Life is never gentle
by cip
Summary: Sequel to A Monumentally Stupid Idea. No-one ever said life was kind or gentle and Tony is about to find out the hard way just how difficult it can be. And this time he can't call on the Avenger's for help and can't tell Pepper the truth - he has to do this alone, and that thought is terrifying. FrostIron, warnings inside.
1. Chapter 1

**I promised a sequel :D This chapter is very much a PWP but plot will follow.**

**For those of you who haven't read the first story; a Monumentally Stupid Idea, all you need to know is that it is also a PWP and all you really need to take from it is: A) Illicit relationship between Loki and Tony and B) Pepper caught them at it.**

**There are no warnings for this chapter beyond hot sex between two insanely hot men. The rest of the story will have warnings, but since I'm not entirely sure yet what they'll be I'll put them at the top of each new update.**

**This is for Manu, as always, as a little pick-me-up in her very **_**very**_** busy life. **

**Un-beta'd although I have attempted to go over with a fine-toothed comb.**

**Enjoy, my lovelies!**

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Tony could practically _feel_ the cameras watching him.

Pepper had been a superstar beyond all words and a heartless tyrant at the same time. She had sworn not to tell a soul and whilst staying true to her word – as Tony always knew she would – it had been on the proviso that whatever had been going on between the genius and Norse God stopped.

Done.

Over.

Finito.

Tony hadn't argued with her.

After all, what was there to stop? Casual sex between two people who otherwise couldn't stand each other, not really much to lose, was there?

Pepper knew him too well. Far too well. To the extent that she didn't trust his word on this matter in the least. Loki had become a drug, slipping in under his skin and making him desperate for the next hit. He couldn't stand the guy, and yet missed him already. It was endlessly frustrating to not have another person around who could keep up with both his frustratingly quick mind, but also his glib, sarcastic view on life. Bruce was a good person to bounce ideas off of, but pestering him with banter was a seriously bad idea.

And of course he missed how good they were together. Loki was quite easily the best lay he'd ever had – regardless of the fact that they hated each other and tried to kill one another when in any other situation.

But no. Pepper had told him – in the coldest most emotionless voice he'd ever heard – that what-ever it was that had been going on, it was over. And because she didn't trust him in the slightest when it came to his sex-drive there were now cameras in every room of the tower. Obviously she didn't man them herself, but she'd put JARVIS onto the job and the AI had seemed to relish in its new role as Big Brother. Tony couldn't so much as go take a piss without the inquisitive robot checking where he was. Thank God Pepper had at least not put a camera in his bathroom! That would have been the last straw.

So this left him bored, somewhat lonely and very much sexually frustrated. Not the best frame of mind for Tony to be in.

His best and easiest way of dealing with the irritation of being monitored like an animal was to hole up in his lab and work on more suit modifications. To be perfectly honest there was very little else he could really add to it or improve, but at the same time he was going stir crazy and needed the focus.

It was as he was attempting to fine-tune a thruster in his right boot that a sudden tiny sound caught his attention.

A sheet of paper next to him had moved slightly and when he stared at it suspiciously it rustled again, as if to hold his attention.

Poltergeist activity?

Then writing began scrawling across the blank surface. The script was angular and actually reminded Tony of the way someone would use the Western characters when they were more used to using an Asian alphabet. Or a runic alphabet…

A smile began to crawl across his face as he surreptitiously read it.

_It appears that you are under house arrest, Stark._

Tony snorted with laughter, then tried to quiet himself, well aware that the cameras had microphones and not wanting to alert JARVIS that anything was amiss. He casually scribbled on the notepad infront of him:

_Yeah, Pepper hasn't told the others though. Are you invisible or projecting your magic?_

He fiddled with a loose wire whilst the reply was written, but had entirely lost interest in his project with the prospect of an interesting conversation.

_Ever the scientist. Yes, I'm invisible._

Tony couldn't help the fact that he almost jumped out of his skin as an unseen hand suddenly slipped into the back pocket of his jeans. There was a firm squeeze to his buttock and he smirked. However, as amusing as it was to pull the wool over JARVIS' eyes it suddenly occurred to him that as well as visual, the AI also monitored heat signatures in the room – Pepper wasn't stupid and knew what her boss was capable of. It did raise a few questions.

_How aren't you setting of my heat signature alarms?_

There was an almost silent chuckle by his ear that he only just heard before the reply appeared infront of him:

_I am a _God_, Stark. Just assume that I researched the security measures that had been put in place and acted accordingly. If I can fool a human I can most certainly fool a machine._

Tony snorted silently.

_You are full of yourself, _God.

The hand in his pocket squeezed again and he felt the heat go straight to his groin. Dear Lord was he some sort of horny teenager, desperate for sex no matter the partner?! _That _didn't bear thinking about.

Still, if the God was here then there was no power on earth to stop him from satisfying his incessant sexual frustration. He said as much too.

_My robot watches everywhere apart from my bathroom._

_Is that really all you think about?_

Tony shrugged slightly.

_I haven't got anything better to do right now and it's the only room in the house where I'm not under surveillance._

_I can see the possibilities here._

_Great minds. Put your hand on my shoulder and follow me. Stick close, some of the automatic doors close pretty quickly._ Tony winked at the space where he presumed the God was standing. _That is, if you want to get laid?_

There was that silent chuckle that he could never-the-less hear again. _Why else would I be here?_

Well, that was a good point. Tony figured that the God had agreed when he felt the hand move from his pocket, trail teasingly up his back and stop to rest on his shoulder. The evening was looking brighter already!

It wasn't too difficult to make his way through the many corridors of his tower, towing the invisible Norse God behind. Loki obviously understood the concept of electric doors, since Tony could hear the tiny rustle of cloth as his shadow nipped through each one just before they slid shut again.

It was certainly more than Thor knew about modern technology.

They reached the familiar door to Tony's room where, up until their foolhardy venture in the living room, most of their encounters had taken place.

"JARVIS, I'm taking a shower, keep your nose out." Tony announced loudly to the ceiling.

"Of course, sir."

The bathroom door slid open silently and the inventor sauntered in, now smug beyond all reason that he'd snuck the God in entirely undetected. "And JARVIS? Microphones off please, I don't think Pepper will want recordings of my singing."

"Yes sir."

Tony shut the door, chuckling triumphantly. He turned and folded his arms expectantly, one eye-brow raised as he waited for his companion to become visible. "Well? Where are you then, goat-horns?"

"Not where you're looking."

The human jumped as the voice came from behind him and was accompanied by an invisible arm snaking round him to run down his chest. He turned but the contact immediately vanished and he reached out only to grasp thin air.

"Hey, seriously, this is your plan for this evening?"

"What's wrong, Stark? You like upping the levels of fun, don't you?"

There was a noticeable thrill through his body at the sound of the God's voice. Now _that_ was sad! He had a Pavlovian response to Loki's voice! The God spoke, and his body was immediately assuming that sex would follow. This would make battles _very_ awkward!

"Fun, yes. Then again, seeing you _is_ part of the fun."

"That sounded dangerously like sentiment."

Tony grimaced. "Yeah, it did, didn't it?" He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "It wasn't meant to, sorry."

He heard the soft huff of laughter from behind, and spun around to once again meet empty air. A smirk began to form on his face and he folded his arms; if Loki was intending to remain invisible for the entire encounter then this could take a while.

"How about we skip the whole you acting coy thing?" He suggested mockingly. "I want sex. You want sex. Hey! Let's have sex!"

A hand was on his chest again. From the angle he guessed that Loki was now standing infront of him and as he leaned forward to try and grab hold of the God again he was met with a mouth crashing against his own. His chuckle in response was muffled as he stumbled back a few paces until the marble counter-top surrounding the sink was pressing against the backs of his thighs.

"We're gonna have to keep this quick." Tony managed to break the contact long enough to get the sentence out. "JARVIS'll get suspicious otherwise."

"Your robot is very reminiscent of 1984." Loki murmured back, his invisible lips ghosting over Stark's as he spoke.

The inventor snorted. "You've read George Orwell?"

The contact on his mouth vanished and from the feel of the trickster's body in his hands he could tell that Loki had leant back slightly. "Stark, I am older than the human race. How would you propose I spend my time?" He asked with a chuckle. "Reading is a pleasant hobby."

The thought of the infamous God of mischief – the same one who had almost succeeded in destroying New York city – curling up in a comfy chair with a good book made Tony snigger and he received a slap round the back of the head for it.

"Ow!"

"You are insufferable, Tony Stark!"

"And yet you suffer me." Tony grinned lazily, although not entirely sure he was grinning in the right direction. "And that is possibly the first time you've called me by my first name."

"Indeed, but only when suffixed with your patronymic in the form of an admonishment." Loki's invisible hand ran through Tony's hair, pulling the human back into another harsh kiss. The genius made a muffled sound of protest as the God's teeth sank into his lip again.

"Ow! _Damnit_! What is it with you and biting me?!" Tony pulled away to wipe the back of his hand across his mouth.

"Don't be a drama queen, Stark, you have suffered far worse." Loki chuckled darkly.

"Yeah, but involuntarily. And are you going to get rid of the invisibility cloak any time soon?"

Tony felt the pressure of Loki's body pressing against his own disappear as the God stepped away from him with a theatrical sigh. For a long moment nothing happened and he presumed that a spell was being woven, before the air infront of him _shimmered_ and the taller man came into focus.

He'd forgone the elaborate Asgardian clothing this time and seemed much more relaxed in khaki patterned cargoes and a plain white shirt. Tony raised an eyebrow, raking his gaze up and down the other's body until Loki began to look distinctly annoyed.

"I am not here as a fashion model, Stark."

"Humour me, I haven't seen you in normal clothing before other than a couple of crappy photos from Germany, and I'm liking the view." Tony smirked. "And you're back to using my last name, _Laufeyson_?"

Loki stepped up to the human again, hands still by his side but so close that his breath was whispering over Tony's lips. "We are still enemies, _Stark_. To use your given name would be to accord you some measure of familiarity. And it is not Laufeyson, but Laufey_jars_son."

Tony moved his hands up to rest on the God's hips, tilting his head to nip at the taller man's neck. "Not what Thor told us." He smirked against the skin as he felt Loki shudder at the touch.

"Thor is an imbecile. Laufey was my mother, not my father." The Asgardian's voice tightened as his partner's mouth found the hollow in his neck and teased the sensitive area.

"Either way." To be honest, Tony didn't give a damn. Father, mother, monkey's uncle, Loki's genealogy was of no interest to him whatsoever. What _was_ of interest was the way the God was beginning to move against him, finally giving in and placing his hands against Tony's chest.

The deep kiss was more frantic than usual – although neither were ever known for being gentle with each other. Tony fisted his hands in his partner's immaculately ironed shirt, leaning back against the sink again and pulling Loki into him.

"I want you." He growled.

"I believe it's my turn to top." The God's hands had migrated to Tony's hair, tightly curled in the short strands. He broke away from the human's mouth to stare contemplatively at him. "But…I might be amenable to your demands."

Tony snorted. "You mean you want a good fucking." The grip on his hair tightened painfully and he grabbed Loki's wrist, trying to remove the God's hands as one wrapped around his neck. "Ow! Ow ow ow! Okay, I'm sorry!"

The trickster grinned ferally. "I don't believe you are, but no matter." Keeping Tony's head at an awkward angle he leant in and ran his tongue up along the inventor's jawline. "I'll make sure to take my due at a later date. You may have me today."

"…Grand. Could you possibly let go of my throat?"

Loki dipped his head in a mocking bow, releasing Tony entirely. The genius rubbed his neck and smirked. "I've missed being assaulted as part of foreplay." Now that Loki had conceded the upper hand to him once again he placed his palm flat against the God's chest, feeling the buttons press indentations into his skin as he applied pressure and forced his partner to back up against the wall. Pinning the God in place with his own body he then leant around him into the shower to turn the water on.

"What are you doing?" Loki watched the sudden burst of steam for a moment, before turning curiously back to his partner.

Tony shrugged. "I told JARVIS I was taking a shower, ergo he'll be expecting the hot water tank to be in use and will get suspicious if it isn't." He grinned wryly and shook his head. "Sometimes I hate myself for making such a conscientious AI."

"Well…" The trickster's voice dropped to a low purr. "We could always make use of the water…"

The two men both looked to the running shower, then glanced back at each other. Loki grinned and Tony began to chuckle.

"It would certainly be different." The inventor conceded. He raised an eyebrow invitingly. "I'm game. You?"

"Warm water is known to be relaxing, perhaps even to the detriment of sexual activity." The mocking tone to the God's voice was all too clear as he looked the human up and down mischievously.

"Oi! Don't like the insinuations here! Have I ever failed to perform?!" Tony jutted his lower lip out in a mock pout. "As far as I remember _you_ are the one with performance issues."

"And it's comments like that that lead me to throw you out of windows."

The genius held his hands up in surrender, chuckling. "Yeah, touché." He tilted his head in the direction of his shower. "Shall we? Otherwise this conversation is heading into the dangerous grounds of flirtation and I'm sure I'm not meant to flirt with S.H.I.E.L.D's number one Most Wanted."

"You aren't meant to sleep with him either."

"Again; touché." Tony stepped away, allowing the God a small amount of personal space as he wriggled his own T-shirt over his head. He glanced up over the piece of material to see Loki staring at him hungrily. "Well? Quicker you strip, quicker we're in there and having fun."

Loki laughed at the crude phraseology but began to unbutton his shirt. He was enough of a stickler for dressing to impress that it was a well-tailored piece of clothing and still brand new. Which meant that it was still starched and difficult to force the buttons through the holes with any great speed. It didn't take long for him to get fed up and give in to the urge to just click his fingers and remove the clothing from both himself and Stark with magic.

Tony, having been halfway through divesting himself of his trousers yelped, over-balanced and almost fell. However, Loki's hand had fastened around the mortal's wrist, saving him from the embarrassing tumble.

"My, my, Stark. Aren't you graceful?"

"Son of a _bitch_! Warn me next time!" Tony glanced to the counter by the sink and was relieved to see his clothing safe in a neat pile there. He didn't give much of a damn about the $500 Levi's, but the shabby 1980's Iron Maiden shirt was one of his favourites – which never stopped him from wearing it in the lab, but he'd prefer not to lose it into some alternate dimension.

Assured that the precious item of clothing was safe he turned his attention back to the naked trickster who was now pulling him under the warm water. Having designed the bathroom – as well as the rest of the tower – to his very specific personal whims, the shower was large enough to hold at least four people – and had, as Tony mused happily – so there was easily enough room for whatever the two men were intending.

Loki's back hit the tiled wall, pushed up against it by the shorter mortal. His hands threaded through Stark's short hair, allowing his mouth to be captured again into a bruising kiss. It didn't take long for teeth to get involved, and soon enough Loki's lip was bleeding, the sharp spike of pain making him chuckle. The two had never once kissed just for the sake of kissing. Each time was a power play, a fight for dominance or – in this case – the statement of who was in charge. Sometimes Loki would submit then fight anyway and sometimes he would let Tony completely control him. This seemed to be winding up into the latter. There really is something thrilling to letting someone order you around when you yourself are all powerful.

Tony sniggered as he felt the God go pliant under his hands; whilst it was always exhilarating when they battled each other for the upper hand he did enjoy it so to have the trickster at his mercy. He could feel Loki's arousal – half hard already – pressed against this thigh, made slick with the warm water cascading over them both. He tangled his hands in the trickster's drenched hair, tipping the taller man's head back at an angle so that he could bite at the long throat presented to him.

The action drew a groan from Loki and he lifted one leg up to hook around Tony's waist so that their chests were pressed together. He could feel Ironman's heartbeat drumming through the arc-reactor, the small machine cool against his hot skin and compared to the steamy atmosphere.

"Are you intending to merely play with me, Stark?" He hissed.

"Hmm?" Tony had sunk his teeth into the nerve running up the God's neck, and he let go reluctantly. "Play? Why yes, I was. Problem with that?"

Loki growled. "Yes, actually." He tugged on the human's hair hard enough to elicit a gasp of pain. "I said you could take me, not toy with me."

"Oh but I know you love to be toyed with." Tony smirked, leaning back enough to make eye contact. "At least humour me; it'll be well worth your while." To emphasise this he reached down and stroked one finger along his partner's erection, feeling the pulse in the thick vein that ran along the underside of it before wrapping his hand around and squeezing. He smirked as the God gasped silently, but the victory was short lived as vicious green eyes met his own. The glare was enough to remind him that Loki only allowed him the upper hand when he kept the pace moving.

"Stark…"

The warning snarl in the God's voice was enough for Tony to relinquish his hold with a frustrated sigh. "Oh, fine. Have it your way!"

"I usually do." Loki cupped his hand around Tony's cheek and leant in so that his breath whispered across the inventors lips, the single soft word barely heard over the drumming water. "_Kneel_."

Tony would swear before any God that could be named that he actually felt his knees go weak. The breathy command had just the right amount of threat in it and as much as he knew he was coming out of this encounter on top – hey, Loki had said he could – he was not adverse in the _least_ to being ordered around beforehand. He dropped gracefully to his knees with a wicked smirk.

"And what would my liege ask of me from this position?" It wasn't hard to use that ridiculously formal language really. Tony had spent more than enough time around both Thor and Loki to be able to repeat their own way of speaking back to the Norse God. His attempt at the British accent failed miserably though, and was probably the reason for Loki's stern expression to break into a grin. They both knew damn well what was expected of one in such a position, but Tony was going to make the bastard say it at least.

"You know what I want, Stark." Usually Loki would have lifted one foot up to rest on Tony's shoulder, but with the water slicking their skin it was probably not a good idea to risk slipping and falling over. Instead he made do with bending his leg at the knee so that he could rest his shin on the shorter man's shoulder. The position meant that not only could Tony still do everything the Trickster wanted him to do, it was also a little safer and was less likely to end up in an embarrassing tumble.

"I want to hear you _say _it." Tony lent forwards a little so that he could brush his nose against the tip of Loki's erection. He grinned as the God's breath hitched – barely heard over the noise of the water. "I want to hear you tell me _exactly_ what you want me to do down here."

Loki closed his eyes, head tilting back to rest against the shower wall as the mortal's hot breath ghosted over him. "I want your mouth on me."

He didn't see the grin on Tony's face. The inventor was fully going to take everything his partner said literally until he drove the God mad. Leaning forwards he wrapped his lips around the head of Loki's erection, tongue probing the small slit. And then promptly stopped there.

"Stark! Seriously?" The God's fingers twisted painfully in Tony's hair. The mortal's hot mouth was excruciating and his answering hum to the snapped statement sent vibrations through the trickster that made him groan.

Tony pulled away with a wet plop. "What? I'm doing _exactly_ what you told me to do." He reached up and flicked his finger against his partner's erection. "If you want more you're gonna have to _tell_ me. Explicitly." He knew his words had hit the mark when Loki's hand on his hair moved to grip the back of his neck, drawing him forwards again.

"…Damn you, Stark!"

"Coming from a God, that means a lot." Tony couldn't resist flicking his tongue out to tease the tip of Loki's erection again, but didn't proceed any further. Instead he glanced up at his partner with a smugly raised eyebrow. _Well then?_

"You are incorrigible." Loki's fingers traced the curve of Stark's jaw, running through the soft hair of his goatee. It was an almost-gentle touch, perhaps even going as far as to say sensual. "Fine." His voice dropped to a seductive murmur, barely heard over the running water. "I want you to use your mouth to make me undone. I want to feel the heat of you around every inch of me, tongue, mouth, teeth, throat, I want you to use them all." He brushed his thumb over Tony's lips as the man smirked up at him. "Think you can handle that?" His tone of voice made it sound like a threat and that was just all the more delicious. It wasn't for nothing that Loki had earned the name Silvertongue.

Tony's only reply was to do as he was told. To the _very_ best of his ability.

And what an ability.

These were skills he'd perfected over a great many years and was more than happy to show-case the lot of them in each and every performance. It was an added bonus that he and Loki had enjoyed enough trysts for him to know every exquisite little trick to turn the God to putty in his hands.

The low groan told him that he was doing a good job.

Loki let his head fall back against the wet tiled wall with a thunk. Heat was pooling in his stomach, spiralling up from where his erection disappeared into that sinful mouth. His nails raked five thin lines across Tony's shoulder, the water washing away the blood that welled up. It must have stung but the human gave no reaction, save to increase the suction.

It was taking all of the God's will power to keep reasonably quiet, but when he suddenly felt a wet thumb breach his body it drew a loud cry from him.

"Ah! Stark!"

The human gave a muffled laugh that caused Loki to arch away from the wall, gripping his partner's hair hard enough to pull some strands free.

"Desist…ah! Desist messing around…and get _on_ with it!"

Tony pulled away again. "You sure?" He twisted his thumb, grinning as Loki moaned loudly. "I'm rather enjoying myself down here."

"_Stark…!"_ The warning snarl told Ironman that he should probably do as he was told if he didn't want to be introduced to a window at terminal velocity again. He sighed, but pulled away so that he could stand up.

Once again it was in their favour that Loki was the taller of the two of them as he was pushed up firmly against the tiles, hooking a leg around Tony's waist. The human didn't bother with checking that his partner was ready or not – other than not wanting to be disintegrated he had little other reason to really care for Loki's well-being. Instead he gripped both the God's thighs, lifting the taller man just enough to position himself at Loki's entrance. The rudimentary preparation probably wasn't entirely adequate, but Tony didn't give a damn and simply thrust up.

Loki snarled, digging his fingers into his partner's shoulders and thumping his head back into the wall again – he was probably going to have a large lump there by the end of the encounter. This gave Tony access to lean forward and sink his teeth into the God's pale throat, his hips snapping forwards. He felt sharp pain bloom across his shoulders and assumed that Loki's nails had broken the skin there. He couldn't care less.

"_Stark_…" The impatient groan was accompanied by a heel digging into the small of Tony's back and the human began thrusting up into the tight heat. He shifted his grip a little on Loki's thighs to attain a better angle and the trickster wrapped both legs around his waist so that Tony had to press him quite firmly into the wall to hold him up. He then realised that this actually made it easier for him to bury himself into the willing body in his arms, which he did with relish.

It was fast, frantic and entirely unrefined.

Nothing they ever did together was gentle, nothing was ever tender and their coupling would have looked like warfare to anyone observing. The bathroom had filled with heat and steam and the groans of the two men. Loki had pressed his head into Tony's shoulder, the position they were in not allowing him any freedom of movement so that all he could really do was hold on for the ride.

He felt Ironman's teeth digging into the side of his neck again and rolled his head to the side to allow better access, a deep moan spilling from his mouth. He was unable to reach between their bodies to grip his aching erection, but they were pressed so close together that he was getting the needed friction regardless. Maybe in another situation the God would have given more thought to how undignified it was to be fucked against a wall by a human, moaning like a whore. Yet he couldn't bring himself to care.

Maybe it was just another sign of how much his mind had broken, how far he had slipped from the thin line of sanity he'd once balanced on. Or maybe he had finally admitted to himself that Stark was the best partner he'd ever found. After all; if you want hard, uncaring sex who better to have it with than someone who actively hates you?

Of course, these thoughts weren't quite as coherent as all that and were widely interspersed with his harsh gasps and profanities.

Tony had noticed before how vocal his otherworldly partner could be and this time was no exception. He was glad that the bathroom was sound-proof – for this very reason – as the God's voice rose, Tony's own grunts joining the growing noise. He could feel the familiar heat growing in his belly and growled into Loki's neck, gripping the pale thighs in his hands tightly enough to bruise. He thrust into the warm body with more desperation, the water washing away the sweat beading on his skin. Loki was hissing his name – well, his surname anyway – over and over like a mantra and Tony hated how it raised his pulse to hear it.

He reached his peak far sooner than he expected, and was taken so fully by surprise that it pulled a strangled yelp from him. He felt Loki gripping him desperately as his hips shuddered to a halt and he buried his head in the trickster's shoulder until the stars faded from his vision.

"Stark…"

The desperate whine brought Tony down from his high enough to realise that there was still a firm hardness pressed against his stomach. Once he had regained enough brain function to move he managed to persuade the God to stand up and allowed his shaking legs to give way as he dropped down to his knees again.

Loki growled low in his throat as the inventor's mouth closed around his aching hardness and he gripped the man's hair tightly. He was close as it was and was already overly aware of Stark's prowess in the blow-job department; Tony knew just when to take the initiative and when to remain still and let the God simply plunder his mouth. It didn't take long for the overwhelming rush of pleasure to surge through Loki as he released down his partner's throat with a high moan.

"_Ohhhhh_."

Tony sat back on his heels, head now cleared a little from his own orgasm as Loki slid down the wall to sit infront of him. The trickster's eyes were closed, his mouth open and a flush painting his cheeks that made the inventor wish for a camera. Oh for a picture of a debauched God…

"I hope we aren't going to be interrupted by Miss Potts this time." Loki's voice was quiet, a smile on his face as he opened his eyes to meet Tony's gaze. His pupils were still blown wide and there was a hazy glaze to them that proved just how sated he was.

"Oh, I don't think so." Stark moved a little so that he could lean back against the wall opposite the trickster, slouched back so the water could wash him clean.

"Good. I don't feel like moving."

"Mmm, me neither." Tony stretched his leg out to bush his toes along Loki's thigh. The God cast a lazy glare at the encroaching limb, but seemed disinclined to do anything about it. "So."

"So?"

"So. Here's me, you, post-coital bliss, not trying to kill each other. Can I ask a question?"

Loki sighed heavily but nodded. "I feel that I would be unable to stop you." He ran his hand over Tony's foot as it brushed insistently against him. "What do you wish to know?"

The grin that languidly spread across Tony's face spelt trouble. "This will entirely ruin the mood, you know."

"There is no mood. We hate each other." The tricksters hand was now massaging the inventor's instep, causing Tony to moan softly.

"Hmm, very true. Absolutely loath each other."

"Indeed." Loki grinned lazily. "Your question?"

Tony cocked his head to one side, his eyes gleaming wickedly. "What's the largest number of people you've directly killed in one go?"

The trickster raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you wish to know?"

"I'm trying to see if it meets my 'Merchant of Death' days. And only humans; Jotun's don't count."

Loki huffed slightly in laughter before raising his gaze up to the shower head that was still pouring warm water over the both of them. He seemed to contemplate the question for a few moments before saying: "Well, I once shot an Archduke called Franz Ferdinand…?"

Tony started, sitting bolt upright. "What? That was _you_?!" He stared at the trickster in shock. "You started a world war?!"

"Oh it would have happened anyway, I just sped things up a little." Loki's grin became mischievous. "The war was always going to occur, with the way things were going. So in fairness, although I like to count that in my hit-list it's a bit of a cheat since I merely made it all happen a little earlier than otherwise planned." He realised that the genius was still staring at him and rolled his eyes. "For Valhalla's sake, Stark; you did _ask_."

"Yeah…Yeah I guess I did." Tony shook his head as if trying to erase the past few seconds of conversation. "So, um, if you don't really count that then dare I ask…?"

The God shrugged. "Directly, the most I've ever killed at the same time was roughly 1500. Give or take."

"That's…quite a few. I'm sure I don't want to know, but my curiosity will be the death of me. How…?"

"They said the ship was unsinkable. It wasn't."

Tony stared at the trickster for a very long time. Loki was leaning back against the wall so nonchalantly that it was almost impossible to believe what he was saying. Or it would have been if he were anyone other than the God of Mischief. The inventor wasn't even sure how to react to the news that his companion had sunk the Titanic and started World War One.

So he laughed.

It started off as a small snort, but quickly escalated into a full peal of heartfelt laughter that left Loki staring at him in bemusement.

"Stark, what in Odin's name…?"

"I can't believe I keep on fucking the guy that not only tried to take over my planet and threw me out a window, but also it transpires started wars and sunk famous ships."

The trickster smirked slightly at that. He could see the human's point. "If it's any consolation I have also aided a great number of people in battle."

"Like hell."

Loki folded his arms across his chest with a raised eyebrow. "How do you think Henry the Fifth managed to win Agincourt against such huge odds? The English hadn't had a prayer." He tapped a finger against his lips in thought. "And I gave the army of Wessex a helping hand when Alfred the Great reclaimed his kingdom from the Danes."

Tony frowned at that. "I thought the Danes worshiped you."

"They did. But that didn't stop them from invoking the name of my oh-so-glorious brother to aid them before combat."

"So out of spite you backed the opposite army and changed the course of British history for ever?"

The God grinned. "Why Stark, it's like you hardly know me at all."

Tony laughed and poked his partner's thigh with his toes again. "I can't believe I let you anywhere near me."

"I have heard it said that you have self-destructive tendencies."

"That's one explanation."

Loki smiled and for once it seemed a little more genuine and a little less like he was plotting how to kill Tony in inventive ways. "I need to depart, there are things I need to do and your computer will begin wondering why your shower has taken so long."

It was a good point and Tony also had things he should probably get back to rather than sit in the shower naked with an equally naked God of mischief. Just none that he could bring to mind right now. He nodded in agreement though, since JARVIS probably would be getting suspicious.

"Will you be turning up again anytime soon?" The human tried for nonchalance, but it came out more as hopeful.

"Maybe. If I feel like it." Loki shifted so that he was kneeling. "I'll see you around, Stark." He reached out and cupped his partner's cheek, drawing the inventor in close. Tony closed his eyes, expecting a kiss, but as he felt warm breath across his lips the trickster suddenly vanished, leaving only a ripple of laughter in the air.

Stark lent back against the shower wall with a groan. "God I hate that guy!"


	2. Chapter 2

**I intended to write plot. Instead this happened. Plot shall happen next chapter :D Enjoy!**

Life as an Avenger wasn't easy. Tony could have guessed that already, but it had really been driven home after a full day of trying to save a leaking oil tanker. Quite _why_ that had been a reason to call out him, Thor and Steve he wasn't sure, but Fury had many fingers in many pies and Tony's suspicion was that the cargo was headed to SHEILD. Or maybe they were trying to give the Avengers an environmentally friendly look. Either way, Tony had welded the hole shut whilst the other two saved seals, or whatever the oil-covered animals had been and they had towed the tanker into port.

Well, Save the Planet were now their BFF's, but after eight hours covered in thick, gunky petrol Tony had a thumping headache and a foul mood. He had stormed straight back to the tower and let the machines pretty much rip his suit off.

"Sir, your blood pressure is very high." JARVIS' voice informed him as he stalked into his bedroom. "I would use the term dangerous, but you have warned me before about qualifying my medical opinions."

"Yes, I have." The man moodily stripped down to his underwear and left his clothes in a stinking pile near the laundry bin. It was wishful thinking that it would be possible to clean them, but he'd double check with Pepper at some point anyway.

"I'm going to have a shower JARV, no peeking, I think I need some me time."

"As you wish, sir. You know that makes you go blind, sir?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Cute, JARV, real cute." He grabbed the towel by the bathroom door, slung it over one shoulder and slammed the door shut behind himself.

Once alone inside he lent against the marble countertop with a heavy sigh. He'd been too pissed off with being covered in crude oil derivatives to care about getting a painkiller for his headache when he'd arrived, but now that the stress was leaving him he began to wish he hadn't made that decision. It was far too much effort to go back into the kitchen to get the pills but God his head _hurt_. Dehydration and the thick cloying chemical smell of petrol were probably the cause of the pain, but he didn't care for reasons.

"Ooh, looks like someone had a bad day." The malice made the soft voice anything but sympathetic yet Tony still found that his grimace morphed into a pained smile.

"Well look who decided he couldn't stay away." He countered, raising his gaze to meet vicious green eyes in the mirror infront of him. Warm hands slipped round his naked waist to clasp across his stomach. Were it anyone other than Loki, Tony would have called the action a hug. "You know I'm in no mood for sex, right?"

"That's not my problem, Stark."

"I have a headache."

"Woman." To Tony's surprise a sudden soft kiss was pressed against his temple. For a long moment he couldn't fathom why Loki would make such a tender gesture, until the pain in his head suddenly began to recede and a wry grin crossed his face.

"Oh I see, remove the headache and you think I'll sleep with you?"

"I think you don't have too much of a choice, whether I take the pain away or not."

That made the man turn around in the God's grasp to face him head-on. "Really." He said flatly. "Oh, that's nice."

"Indeed." Loki grinned, his eyes gleaming with a malicious intent that Tony really didn't like the look of.

"You know, I'm really not feeling the mood here, goat-horns. I prefer to have a little consent in who fucks me."

"Do you now."

"I'm starting to think I wasn't the only one to have bad day at the office."

"Perhaps you weren't." Loki's hand trailed up Stark's naked chest, long fingers teasing across his skin until he curled them lightly around the human's throat. There was a moment when it seemed that he would squeeze, but then he laughed and patted Tony's cheek. "I like seeing that fear in your eyes, Stark. But I'll admit that seeing them filled with lust is more appealing."

"The lust usually appears after you stop insinuating raping me."

An expression of mock disbelief flitted across Loki's face. "What, you don't trust me? You wound me, Stark." He pressed in close, dipping his head to rest his cheek against Tony's forehead, hand moving up to twine in the man's hair. "I have grown accustomed to your presence; I'm not going to harm you without good reason."

"Is that your Asgardian way of saying you're getting attached to me?"

"Hardly. You're just better in bed than anyone else I would care to have."

"Considering you have a friendship circle consisting of God's and creatures from myth and legend I feel rather flattered." Tony finally let his stern expression morph into a grin. "And flattery, as we all know, will get you everywhere." He raised an eyebrow at Loki's sly grin. "What?"

"Will it get you as far as England?"

"_England_?! That's on the other side of the Atlan – Woah!"

Tony didn't have any time to protest as the room around him began to swiftly dim. Despite being fairly sure he hadn't moved a muscle there was a sudden feeling of great speed and rushing air around him and the surroundings vanished entirely. Utterly helpless and absolutely fascinated at the same time, the man's hands found Loki's hips, clinging tighter than he would have liked to admit as they were thrown through the darkness.

The journey took mere moments, but Tony wished it had been longer – what physicist wouldn't fall completely in love with the sensation of teleportation after all? He promised himself to one day beg Loki to explain it all to him.

As it was the darkness faded away again, this time giving way to a vision of white and gold which drove all thoughts of physics from his mind.

"Where in God's name are we?!"

Loki stepped away from the human, smirking as he watched Tony take in their surroundings with wide-eyes.

"You haven't been here? I thought Stark Industries afforded you only the best." He waved his hand at the large room they stood in. "This is the Prince Alexander Suite in Claridges, London."

"I've only ever stayed in the Ritz. I think I might change that though." Tony's gaze took in the grand piano in the corner of the room, before alighting on the stunning view from the window. "Not that I'm complaining, but why are we here?"

"I have grown weary of sneaking around after you and confining our meetings to your shower-room. This seemed a little more refined."

Refined was too small a word really. Tony was more than used to luxury – after all he had the money to buy all the luxury in the world – but to have it lavished upon him by someone else for no true reason was novel. Usually he was the one to splash out.

"This isn't coming out of my pay-check, is it?"

"I have a more than adequate fund here on Midgard, certainly more than enough to buy this whole hotel should I wish." Loki seemed to find Tony's bemused expression amusing. "After all, money is just a stream of numbers inside a computer in this modern world of yours."

Touché.

Tony had to admit that the suite was astonishing. Silk-lined chairs, piano, views to rival the best in the world and a square footage of nearly 200 meters. They were in the sitting room and he could see through the small corridor to a large bedroom and bathroom that both begged to be explored. Even so, something was very much praying on his mind.

"Why here?"

"Why not? I find pleasure in beauty, this place is beautiful."

"Yeah. Not buying it. Why here?"

Loki rolled his eyes, folding his arms in an exasperated fashion. "If you must know, it reminds me of my quarters back on Asgard."

Tony looked around at the room again. Gold, cream, a little red here and there, hardly what he'd expect from the chaotic God of mischief and lies. If asked, he would have thought Loki was more of a skulls-and-bones-on-black type of person. There was more to it than that though. This reminded the trickster of his home, a place where he was no longer welcome and was nothing more than a hopeless distant memory. This was _personal_ and he had let the human in on it.

"You know that sounds dangerously sentimental, right?"

"It did. My apologies." A thin smile crossed the God's face. "Rest assured that my intentions for the next few hours are entirely unsentimental."

"That sounds promising. Can I test the shower first?" Tony ran a hand through his filthy hair and raised an eyebrow. "I'm covered in an oil-slick."

Loki eyed him up and down, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "Yes, you are. You have ten minutes." His grin became feral. "Any longer and I'm going in after you whether you want me to or not."

"And there's the sentiment gone out the window." Tony winked and sauntered off towards the bathroom he'd spied; seemingly uncaring that he was walking through such luxurious rooms dressed in just his boxers and the filth from the tanker.

The washroom was enormous even by Stark's standards. All black and white marble and soft linen curtains. The sunken bath was so large and deep that he half considered calling Loki in anyway to make good use of it, but the trickster seemed to have plans so he decided to wait until later. Instead he made good use of the glass-walled shower.

Okay, at least he could be smug that his shower back home was bigger than this one, although it was still pretty decent. Warm water and complimentary soap made washing the grime off a quick task and already his mind was wandering to what Loki had in mind.

_It reminds me of my quarters in Asgard._

Loki had taken him to a place that was reminiscent of his childhood home, a place of safety and peace. He had opened up a little, even if he hadn't realised it. Tony rested his forehead against the warm glass with a small sigh as the weight of this hit.

What the fuck was he doing?

Here he was; in another country – without a passport by the way – having not told anyone where he was going and all at the whim of the Avenger's number one enemy. This was wrong on pretty much every level there was and yet he couldn't bring himself to stop it.

Really, what the _fuck_ was he doing?!

And yet he knew that as much as he questioned his own motives, he would still walk out of this room and into the waiting arms of the God of lies.

And that didn't bother him.

Turning the water off he stepped out of the shower and grabbed the nearest towel – nearly fluffy enough to rival the ones he owned personally – and quickly dried off. It was always an advantage to have short hair – it dried so easily. He deliberated on whether to put his boxers back on or not, but considering that Loki was just going to rip them straight back off he decided it wasn't worth it.

He sauntered out into the bedroom completely at ease with the fact that he was entirely naked. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but it certainly wasn't what he saw infront of him.

"Oh…"

Loki had also stripped himself of his clothes and had sprawled back across the bed, arms above his head, one leg bent at the knee. He was easily tall enough to spread out across the huge bed.

Tony's mouth went dry; the God looked like a Playboy model.

"Are you just going to stare at me, Stark?"

"Well, I am enjoying this view."

"Hmm. I'm sure you are." Loki rolled onto his side to face the man, a sly smile playing across his face. "But I have far more entertaining things that you could be doing."

"I remember promises of you taking me."

"Oh, I intend to."

Tony approached the bed, smirking as Loki shifted to allow him sit down. There was a fur throw covering the duvet – sheep, from the softness of it – and the man ran his fingers through it as he leant over and pressed a kiss to the God's lips.

Had they kissed that gently before? Probably not, up until the point that Loki chuckled and bit down into Tony's lip until there was a sudden burst of blood.

"_Ow_!" Tony pulled away just long enough for Loki to surge up under him and roll so that the man was thrown onto his back, the God straddling his hips. "You're going to leave me with scars if you keep doing that!"

"I like the sound of that…"

"No."

Loki merely hummed in reply, leaning down to bite at the underside of Tony's jaw, the inventors wrists trapped in his hands and held against the fur. He sucked at the soft skin until a bruise that would last for days finally bloomed. "You're mine, Stark." There was something dangerous in his voice.

"I think someone didn't share their toys as a child."

Tony squirmed as the mouth left his jaw and moved along his neck, sucking along the tendon.

"I had a tendency to set traps so that Thor couldn't go near my belongings."

"Cute…" Sharp teeth scraped across Tony's pulse point and entirely took his mind away from the conversation. He felt clever fingers running across his chest, circling the arc reactor in a now-familiar way and it drew a groan – not from the contact, but more from the expectation of where this was going to go. The wicked mouth ran back up to nip at his ear lobe, tongue dipping into the shell of his ear.

"Onto your knees." The hiss sent a shiver down the man's spine, but – and he couldn't believe he was even entertaining the thought – he trusted Loki enough to do as he was told. The God moved off of him and allowed him to roll onto his stomach and rise up to his knees. He felt horribly exposed, and Tony knew Loki was well aware that this wasn't his favourite position. The God's hands ran down his arms to grip his wrists and the man lifted his head in surprise at the sound of two sharp clicks in quick succession.

"Hey!"

Handcuffs. Tony gave an ineffectual tug but his hands were firmly locked together and he watched indignantly as Loki tied a length of leather to the links of the cuffs and then secured the other end to the headboard of the bed. He didn't need to test the knots to know that he wasn't going to get free without help.

"Uh…When did I agree to bondage?"

"When did I ask your opinion?" Loki's voice was like liquid chocolate – dark and silky smooth. "You agreed I can take you, therefore I am the one deciding how this will pan out."

"Yeah, but-"

"_Trust_ me, Stark." The words were whispered against the nape of his neck, raising the hairs there and he shivered.

Hey, who would have thought that being bound, helpless and entirely at the mercy of the God of Lies would be so arousing?

Loki's hot mouth moved across his shoulders, leaving a wet path that encouraged goosebumps after it and Tony decided that if he was going to be stuck in this position he might as well enjoy it. It wasn't hard to, in all honesty. Loki was a genius with his hands and mouth and made good use of them as he mapped out the man's shoulders and back before trailing down his spine.

It didn't occur to Tony what the God could have in mind until he suddenly felt firm hands exposing him even more than he already was. Perhaps he should have protested, but before a coherent thought could pass his mind the sinful mouth had moved on and pressed right into his centre.

"Oh!"

Obviously the self-proclaimed playboy had had this done before – and returned the favour – but he'd never had a partner who went in for the kill in the manner the trickster did. Loki kissed him as he would Tony's mouth, tongue moving and twisting until the man couldn't hold his weight up on his bound arms and collapsed to his elbows with a deep groan.

It was rare for Stark to be so vocal, but Loki wasn't known as the Silvertongue for nothing. By all the _Gods_ did he know how to use that thing! Soon enough he was drawing a full symphony of whines and pleas from Tony, the man trembling underneath the God's skilled and wicked touch. The trickster kissed and sucked the sensitive flesh until Stark was lost to the sensations, completely at Loki's mercy.

Something in the back of the genius' mind was telling him that he should at the very least be feeling shame for allowing the God to taste him in such a filthy and wonderful way, but how could he think of anything beyond just how damn _good_ it was?! He couldn't even feel embarrassed about how loudly he was voicing his pleasure in response to the stimulation. He'd never been so aroused by the simple act before and part of him was beginning to wonder if the sensations alone were going to be enough to make him climax. It certainly felt that way.

And then Loki pulled away with a small chuckle causing the human to curse loudly.

"Now now, Stark, I don't believe I've ever heard you quite as vocal as this." The God sounded so unbearably smug that the inventor snarled at him. However, Tony's grumpy response was cut off as the trickster's finger suddenly breached his body and he couldn't help but push back with a whine. The movement was checked short by the leather rope which made him remember that he was still bound and entirely helpless. The finger moving around inside him knew exactly what it was looking for and a sudden spike of intensity made him arch his back with a groan.

"If we had more time I would consider keeping you like this for a while." Loki's voice was soft and sinuous as he added a second finger, moving the two digits agonizingly slowly. "I'd spend all night working you open, slowly, _exquisitely_ torturing you with pleasure. Making you beg until you weren't even sure if you were begging for me to halt or to never stop. And after I made you scream your release over and _over_ until you thought you couldn't stand it anymore I'd still force another one from your trembling, fucked-out body." He lent in to press a kiss just above where his fingers were moving in and out, running his tongue across the sweat-streaked skin.

Tony had begun to pant hard, curled over so that he could bury his face in his forearm, his rear up in the air. The trickster's silver words were curling around him, quite possibly the most erotic thing he'd ever heard. The imagery alone was sending him to new heights of arousal and combined with those wicked fingers moving so _slowly_ inside him it was becoming unbearable.

"Alas, we don't have the time for such pursuits." Loki continued. "But rest assured, Stark, I mean to make it happen someday."

Tony let out a pathetic pleading whine that didn't clearly define if he was relieved or severely disappointed at that news. However he made it very clear that it was displeased when the fingers were removed, leaving him exposed and open.

"Come on, stop playing with me!" The angry statement was spoiled by how desperate he sounded, causing Loki to laugh.

"Well aren't you demanding."

Tony felt the mattress behind him shift a little and curled his fingers into the thick sheep's fur as one of Loki's hands found his hip and he felt the blunt head of the God's arousal pressed against his entrance. It was going to hurt, he was more than aware of that, but what surprised him was how little he cared. He was more than used to relaxing his lower body and despite how desperate he felt it was still possible to calm his tense thigh muscles enough to allow Loki to press in.

"_Starrrrrk…_" It was a deep and sinful purr, the God's hands tightening to leave bruises on the man's hips. Loki pushed forwards until he had sunk all the way in, Tony trembling and groaning beneath him. And then the God paused, leaning forward so that his chest was resting against his partner's back.

"Loki-"

A finger was pressed against Tony's lips. "Hush." The trickster's hand trailed down the man's throat to press against the arc reactor, urging him up. "On your knees."

Tony groaned again, but did as he was told, shakily raising himself off his forearms and back onto hands and knees. The action was rewarded when the sly hand ghosting across his chest moved inexorably downwards until it grasped his aching and so-far neglected erection. He hissed at the much needed touch and his hips moved of their own accord, causing Loki to gasp in turn.

"Move, _please_."

"Manners will get you everywhere." Loki's own voice was sounding strained, and for once he didn't tease, instead pulling back and surging forwards again. The move drew a whine from Tony and he backed into the contact so that the next thrust almost threw him back to his forearms again.

There is a famous saying; Make Love not War. The two men made love as if it _were_ war. Harsh and hot and sweaty, the grand room filled with the deep groans and lascivious whispers. Loki drove into the inventor, setting a fast pace as Stark rocked back against him helplessly.

The God was as vocal as ever, and this time he was managing to coax similar noises from his partner. His hand matched the rhythm his hips had set, stroking Tony firmly until he had the man keening hopelessly under him.

Tony's arms gave up on trying to hold his weight and he fell back to his forearms, head buried into them as he rocked back to meet each of Loki's thrusts. It had reached the point where he didn't care anymore that he wasn't really fond of this position, didn't care that Loki had cuffed him without consent and certainly didn't care that he was on his knees and moaning like a whore. Actually, he rather liked it.

The tiny portion of his brain that was still paying any attention to current events realised that Loki's voice had gone up a little in pitch and it was almost alarming that Tony knew the God well enough to recognise that this was a sign of impending orgasm. But, being Tony he wasn't alarmed and instead just rocked back with more insistence, begging for the warm hand wrapped around his erection to increase its pressure enough to tip him over the edge.

Was Loki a mind reader? Maybe, maybe not, but either way he somehow recognised what the genius' incomprehensible pleas were about and complied, his grip tightening and pace speeding up. The man underneath him whined and arched up, hands twisting in the sheep's fur and the cuffs leaving dark rings around his wrists.

"Loki, _God_, close…"

Tony felt rather than heard the trickster's corresponding groan and Loki's steady pace began breaking up, faster and harder with no rhyme or rhythm to it until the inventor felt the build-up in the pit of his stomach rise into a fiery heat that took him over the edge with a scream. His release coated Loki's hand although the God hardly seemed to realise and continued pounding into the suddenly pliant body beneath him until he too let out a loud curse. He clung to Tony's hips, fingers digging deep enough to bruise and although the human couldn't actually see his partner he knew Loki well enough to know that the God would have his head flung back, eyes closed and mouth open as he rode through his orgasm.

And then it was over, Loki flopping forwards to lie across Tony's back so that the man could feel every slight shiver that was running through the trickster's body. The God was heavy and hot and sweaty, yet beyond rolling off his knees and onto his side to be more comfortable, Tony was more than inclined to let him stay there.

A long few moments passed, the human prone across the fur and Loki sprawled on top of him, neither inclined to move. Tony's hands were still cuffed together but he really couldn't bring himself to care as he lay awkwardly on his side, trying to get his breathing back under control. He felt a kiss pressed to the back of his shoulder and snorted with quiet laughter into the sheep skin.

"Am I too heavy?"

"Beginning to get that way…"

"Too bad, I'm not moving." The soft British accent was mocking and Loki merely settled out so that he was resting even more of his weight on the man beneath him.

"Git."

"Mhhm."

"Can you at least take the cuffs off?"

"Ask me nicely."

Tony rolled his eyes, craning his neck so that he could look up at the God using him as a pillow. "Please can you take the cuffs off, Loki?"

The trickster merely folded his arms across Tony's back and rested his cheek on them, eyes slipping closed. "That wasn't nice enough."

"It was plenty nice enough!"

"I am a God and prince of Asgard. And you could technically say that I am the king of the Jotun race."

Tony groaned in dismay. "How much stroking does your ego _need_?" He groused. "Fine." His voice became a childish sing-song. "Oh holy majesty, please release me."

"I still don't think you mean it."

"It's the best you're getting, Sunshine."

Loki chuckled quietly and the cuffs unravelled into a plume of grey smoke, taking the leather rope with them. Tony groaned again, in relief this time, and stretched his arms out. There were deep red marks around each wrist that he hadn't noticed forming at the time, but would now be hard to explain away. Maybe he'd just claim to have been working on the suit bracelets.

Despite being used as a mattress by the God of Lies, Tony still managed to roll over so that Loki's folded arms rested on his chest across the arc reactor and they were face to face. Bright green eyes, somewhat hazy with lingering pleasure, watched the man with worrying intensity.

"What are you thinking, Stark?"

"I'm kinda worrying about what the hell we think we're doing. By rights I should be trying to arrest or kill you."

"What's stopping you?"

"What's stopping _you_?"

"It's rude to answer a question with another question. Did no one ever teach you that, Stark?"

"Mmm, possibly." Tony grinned, up until the whisper of air across his face as Loki huffed in annoyance made him aware of just how intimate their position was. He reached up to run a gentle finger along the God's cheek and the shock at that uninhibited touch registered in Loki's eyes as a bright flash.

"Stark…?"

Tony laughed and removed the offending finger, running his hand through his own hair. "What the hell am I doing? This is fucking crazy!"

"Popular opinion suggests that you are one to take crazy risks."

"Yeah, but this? If anyone ever finds out SHEILD will probably kill me."

Loki raised his head to gaze at the inventor shrewdly. "They would execute you for your association with me?"

"Of course. I think the super-spy term is that I'm compromised."

"Would Miss Potts be likely to tell of our dalliances?"

"Never of her own free will, but I don't trust Fury one little bit and he'd use coercion should he ever suspect I'm up to something."

"You're always up to something."

That startled a laugh out of Tony. "True, that's very true."

Loki smirked, before dropping his head back down to bury his face in the crook of Stark's shoulder with a tired sigh. The man's arms moved up automatically to fold across the God's back in the manner that he usually held his lovers after such encounters.

For a very long moment the two lay like that, worryingly trusting and comfortable in each other's closeness. The lion and the lamb, an all-powerful God and a mortal man whom detested each other and yet still sought out each other's company.

Finally Loki nuzzled against Tony's shoulder, turning his head to the side enough to speak.

"I should return you; your computer will be concerned about the length of the shower you are supposedly taking."

"Mmm, I don't feel like moving." And he really didn't. The bed was entirely too soft and having Loki draped over him was entirely too comfortable. "Five more minutes?"

"Now Stark," The God sat up and moved to the side so that he wasn't on Tony any more. "Come on." He even deigned to hold out a hand to help the man up. The inventor made a meal out of pulling himself upright but grinned once he managed it. They both looked a complete mess; hair everywhere, sweat streaked and still somewhat breathless. Loki – usually so pale – had two bright red patches on either cheek, his lips swollen and gaze oddly calm. It made Tony wonder what he looked like in the God's eyes.

"I'll send you straight back into your bathroom, I believe it should be sufficient to fool your Big Brother that you have been in there this whole time."

Tony nodded, looking around at the grand room again. He'd definitely have to change all of his London reservations to Claridges from now on. "Uh, thank you, I guess?" He gestured around awkwardly. "For this, I mean. It was…well, a nice idea."

Loki dipped his head in acknowledgement. "I'm glad you approved." Then he grinned. "But please say no more, Stark. You risk venturing into that dangerous realm of sentiment."

"And we wouldn't want that now, would we?"

"No. We wouldn't." The God smirked at him. He raised his hand up to rest against the man's arc reactor. "I'll see you again, Stark."

"I bet you will." Tony lifted his right hand and made the Vulcan salute sign. "Live long and prosper."

"_Dif-tor heh smusma._" Loki returned the gesture without raising an eyebrow and replied in effortless Vulcan. He then closed his fingers together and in doing so both he and the room began to fade from view.

"Hey!" Tony's voice echoed oddly as the same feeling of speed and rushing air as when he'd been teleported to the hotel room surrounded him. All he could hear from the trickster was a faint chuckle.

It didn't last long and a few moments later the man found himself sat on the floor of his bathroom, hand still holding the salute.

"Seriously? He knows _StarTrek_?!" There was no-one to answer, but he still felt the need to exclaim out loud as he stared at his own hand. "Why the hell does a Norse God know about StarTrek?!"

It was – sadly – a question to be answered another time and he pulled himself to look at himself in the mirror over the sink.

"Son of a _bitch_!" The large love-bite on his neck was going to be _very_ hard to explain to the others come morning.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

**Why StarTrek? Because I was watching the Big Bang Theory whilst writing the end of this :D**

**In other news, I'm afraid there is plot trying to intrude here so the plot shall commence next chapter. It was meant to start this chapter, but people asked for more smut so I indulged them. However, I have half the next chapter written so the wait until it is up shouldn't be long.**

**See you soon my lovelies! **


	3. Chapter 3

**New chapter again! Now, first things – THERE IS NO SMUT IN THIS CHAPTER! Sorry, but I gave fair warnings that plot would start happening. However, the **_**next**_** chapter will be back to smut – I just needed to get this major plot-point out the way.**

**There are WARNINGS for this chapter; but if I put them here then it will give away the plot. So here's my compromise: If you are a person easily offended then please hit the End button – I have put the warnings/spoilers at the END of this chapter for you to skip to. On that note, there is NO rape/non-con/torture here; just…something that people usually put warnings for. Nothing too gory, I promise. And if you read the past two chapters of heavy smut then I can't imagine this will cause too much offence ^_^**

**WMWMWMWMWMWMWMMWMW**

Loki did turn up again, a few days later.

And then a week after that.

And then a few more times.

And then vanished.

Tony wasn't sure what to make of it really. Each time had been furious, intense, and well worth any repercussions, so he couldn't fathom why the God had suddenly dropped off the face of the planet. The last time they'd met up had been late January, and now it was September and he hadn't heard a thing.

He was a little worried. It wasn't as if he liked the guy, but Loki was technically a God, and had the strength and power that went with the title, so to disappear off the radar meant something had possibly happened. And if something was strong enough to take out Loki then the Avengers should probably know about it!

But nothing happened.

There were no intergalactic attacks, no frantic messages from Asgard and – much to Tony's frustration – no hidden sexual escapades.

It was worrying and unfortunately not something he was able to talk to any of the others about. As far as the rest of the team knew, Loki had not been seen since escaping from Thor's custody after his take-over-the-world bid. That made it hard for Tony to explain how he was currently concerned for the trickster's whereabouts, and how he knew that the God had even gone missing in the first place.

It was over half a year. Something was most certainly wrong.

And then, from out of no-where, in the middle of a cold September night, Loki reappeared right in Ironman's bedroom.

Tony had been sat in bed, tablet on his lap and watching a film when a sudden burst of light made him look up so sharply that his neck cricked. For a brief moment he wondered if something had exploded – after all, he did keep some unfinished projects close to hand in case he had a brainwave in the middle of the night. As it was his gaze fell upon the figure currently leaning on his chest of draws, looking decidedly worse for wear.

It was during moments like these that Stark was immensely grateful his brain could process things so quickly. His gaze took in the slumped posture, the wary darting glances and immediately drew two swift conclusions. 1) Loki was in trouble and 2) It had to be _big_ trouble for him to appear in a space that was knowingly monitored.

"JARVIS, emergency protocol 58008." His voice was steady, despite the burning gaze staring at him.

"But sir, Miss Potts-"

"I don't care. 58008, no communication into or out of this room without my say-so." He was glad that he'd thought fast enough to head the AI off before it alerted Pepper, SHEILD and the rest of the Avengers. JARVIS had no way of over-riding the protocol he'd just put in place.

The green glare that had been watching him like a hawk simmered down a little, Loki's body posture relaxing slightly as he realised he wasn't walking into a fight.

"So." Tony met the intense gaze head-on. "You disappear for nearly a year then turn up in the middle of a room that you know is _crawling_ with surveillance in the middle of the Avenger's HQ. You're smarter than that."

"In theory." In the dim light Stark could just make out the tired grin that appeared on the God's face. It was possibly the gentlest expression he'd ever seen the trickster portray.

Standing up and tossing the tablet aside he realised that the mien was very reminiscent of that look they'd received at the end of the battle when Loki had realised he was beaten. That hopeless little smile and the quip about the drink he was owed. So innocent and so utterly defeated and broken.

"What's happened?" Tony's voice was hard and flat. It was obvious that Loki was under the weather – if such a thing can be said of God's – but currently all the human cared about was how much danger Loki's presence was putting the Avenger's in.

"Nothing has happened, I can assure you." In complete contrast to that the God limped – yes, limped, Tony noticed – forwards, hand clinging to the chest of drawers for support. And completely contrary to his statement he looked like hell. Usually so impeccably dressed, it seemed like appearances had been the last thing on his mind when he'd thrown a rumpled green tunic over a faded version of his usual black trousers. The fact that he even _had _casual clothes conjured the odd thought that the trickster may actually have a home of some sort out there somewhere.

"Bullshit. _Something_ has dealt you some damage and I know it sure as hell wasn't one of us." Tony folded his arms. "So spill; what's happened?"

The tone of voice made Loki straighten to his full and impressive height, his eyes flashing in fury. "Do you forget to whom you speak, Stark?!" The vulnerable expression had fled his face, replaced with hard anger and a coldness to match Tony's own.

"Of course I don't, goat-horns, which is why I'm trying to ascertain if you turning up here will bring down a whole load of shit on our heads!"

"Just your head, Stark, I can assure you."

Tony scowled. "Oh _brilliant_. I should have guessed that much." He glared as Loki slowly made his way to the foot of the bed and sat down, rumpling the red covers. There was definitely something wrong with the trickster, but if he wasn't going to talk then the man could at least pursue other lines of enquiry. "Where have you been all this time?"

That earned him a raised eyebrow. "Why? Missed me, Stark?" The old malice reappeared in that reply. "Maybe I'd just grown bored with you."

"Not if your reactions to our little meetings have been any indication. No-one gets bored of Tony Stark. Not even a God." Tony met the malice with arrogance, his head tilted up at a haughty angle.

If he was hoping to get anger as a reaction then he was disappointed when Loki just laughed. The trickster's evil little chuckle made it very clear that whatever the joke was, it was on Tony.

"Oh my, Stark. That sounds far too much like a defensive lover." He hissed, green eyes sparkling with vindictiveness. "Were you _worried_, Ironman?"

"Only for the team." Tony snapped, his own eyes narrowing as he glared down at the God. Since he was still standing and Loki had sat down, for once he actually towered over the trickster and used the effect to its full advantage. He was very used to people trying to intimidate him with their height so now he was trying the same tactic. "Why the hell would I worry about you?"

"Your voice is saying one thing, your body language another. My disappearance upset you."

The human huffed and seemed to throw the remark aside. "Where have you been then? You've obviously taken a beating." He sneered. "Wouldn't like to meet someone who could deal _you_ some damage."

Loki scowled, shifting uneasily where he sat, obviously in pain and trying to relieve the discomfort. "Contrary to your opinion, I have not been in a fight, and I most certainly have not 'taken a beating' as you phrase it."

"Yeah. Like I'm going to believe that; God of Lies." Tony was beginning to wonder if maybe he hadn't actually mis-interpreted the situation, but now that he was in the middle of an argument he'd be blowed if he'd back down and admit it. "Where have you been for eight months?"

As it was, the trickster lived up to his reputation of craftiness as he blind-sided the whole conversation. "What does your Norse mythology tell you of me, Stark?"

"Huh?" Ironman swept a hand through his hair as he tried to follow where the train of conversation was going. "Are you fishing for compliments or something? Stop trying to change the topic!"

"I'm not. But you'll need some back ground information before I start trying to explain myself to you." Loki succeeded in making that sound like the dreariest chore in the nine realms. Maybe it was to him. "What do you know of me?"

"Other than that you tried to take over the world?"

"Stop being obtuse, Stark."

Tony shrugged and spread his hands in the universal gesture of 'I don't know'. "What are you trying to get me to say? I know the generic myths; lips sewn shut, mistletoe dart, the whole snake dripping venom thing. The usual."

Loki's eyes had narrowed dangerously, but he persisted. "And my family?"

"You have messed up relations. Oh and then there's the crazy kids thing."

"The crazy kids thing."

Ironman rolled his eyes at the cold tone, refusing to be cowed. "Yeah. You have to admit that your children are less than normal."

"Continue."

"Where do I start?! Giant crazy wolf thing, huge-ass world serpent, demon daughter ruling Hell. Not to mention the horse!" The glare that was levelled on him made Tony realise that this probably wasn't the best way to approach what had to be a sensitive subject. "Hey, you asked."

"Yes, I did." Loki shifted again uneasily, a wince crossing his face. "And do you know of my children's origins?"

By this point Tony was entirely at sea, not having a clue where this conversation was taking him and still no closer to discovering what the hell the God had been up to.

"The snake, girl and wolf had a frost giant mum, your two normal ones had an Æsir mum and the horse was yours." There was a very definite snigger at the end of the sentence, making Tony sound like a high-schooler.

The God merely folded his arms with an impatient sigh. "Yes, I birthed Sleipnir, what does that tell you about me?"

"You've got a kinky taste in bed-partners?"

"_No_ Stark!"

Ironman saw red.

"Then stop trying to make me second guess you and for once in your stupidly long life speak fucking plainly you stupid son of a bitch!"

Tony's outburst seemed to surprise them both. Loki had lent back a little, one hand bracing himself on the bed covers as he stared at the human. In the history of their knowing one another Tony had _never_ been the one to let loose in rage; rather he much preferred to wind his partner up instead. For him to have raised his voice in anger meant that Loki's disappearance had impacted on him more than he would have wished and far more than he had wanted the God to know.

"Speak plainly." The man repeated the last two words, but this time at a more normal volume. "Where have you been and what is wrong with you?"

"I _was_ speaking plainly. You were just being impatient."

"Well maybe you should remember that I don't _have_ any patience!"

"For Valhalla's sake Stark!" The deep snarl reminded Tony just who he was dealing with, but for once there was no-corresponding flare of magic. "For once in _your_ pointless life, why don't you just _listen_ when someone is trying to tell you something?!" The furious glare could have soldered iron.

Despite being one of the smartest people on the planet, Tony very rarely paid attention to other people and their feelings. However, he was beginning to realise what Loki was trying to do. The God had something important to impart and couldn't bring himself to just spit it out and so was trying to find an appropriate analogy. Tony had done the same thing so many times himself that it was practically the way he communicated nowadays.

With that in mind the man took a deep breath and tried to calm his temper down. "Fine. Your family, your kids. What are you trying to tell me?"

"You mentioned Sleipnir."

"The wolf?"

"No, the horse." Loki rubbed a tired hand across his eyes. "I gave birth, Stark. What does that tell you about me?"

A large number of comments came to Tony's mind but he tried to keep the conversation going this time. What did a male carrying a child mean? "You're a shapeshifter? Or a woman in disguise?"

"The term you are looking for is hermaphrodite. Neither male nor female."

The mortal shook his head. "Nuh uh, I've seen you naked. You're very much male down there, Capricorn."

"No. I _appear_ male. When I was younger I performed a spell so that it wasn't obvious on the outside what I was." Loki's expression turned to a grin, half wry and half dark. "I thought I was a freak, as much as my _dear_ parents tried to tell me otherwise. What they didn't deign to explain was that it was part of my Jötunn heritage. Jötunn's don't have the two sexes, there is just the one that can both impregnate and _be _impregnated."

Something was beginning to claw at the back of Tony's mind by this point. A horrible little suspicion that he could hardly bare to entertain.

"Loki…What the hell are you trying to say…?!

The God laughed mirthlessly, burying his head in his hands. "What do you _think_ I'm trying to say, Stark?"

Silence throughout the room.

For the longest moment Ironman hardly dared to entertain the thought. It wasn't until he realised that Loki's shoulders were shaking – that the trickster was deadly serious about this that the enormity of it hit him.

Oh _God_…!

Tony could almost physically feel his legs turn to jelly and he wobbled over to sit down heavily next to the God. "No…"

"I'm sorry." Two words that Ironman had never thought to hear from SHEILD's number one enemy.

"How can…God _no_!" Tony shook his head in horrified numbness, staring blankly at the floor. "Are you sure…?"

"More than. I've had nine months to be sure."

"…And it's definitely…"

"Yours? Oh yes. Positive." Loki's voice was bitter and soft, as if he was in the same state of shock – although thinking about it logically Tony realised the God must have known since he went missing.

"So this is why you went AWOL then." He said flatly.

"Indeed. Once I realised what had happened I decided that the best course of action was to remove myself from the general vicinity until I could work out what to do."

"Telling me sooner might have been a plan." Tony's voice was tinged with the beginnings of shock – a slight tremble under the usually confident tones.

"I…I couldn't bring myself to do so."

"You chickened out."

The God managed a huffed laugh. "An accurate summary."

The human ran a shaking hand through his hair again, breathing deeply to try and calm his racing heartbeat down. "Jesus _Christ_, what the hell!?" He looked up to stare at the God next to him. "You don't…You don't _look_ particularly pregnant."

"Of course I don't. I am more than able to cast a mirage over myself."

Tony nodded again, wringing his hands together as his gaze went back to the carpet. "So what are you planning to do?" There was terror in his voice that was far too transparent.

Loki shrugged hopelessly. "I can't keep it."

"_What_?!" That shocked the man for reasons he couldn't quite explain. Mythology made it fairly clear that Loki was fond of his children – even the weird ones – so to not want this one was out of character for the trickster. "Why not?"

"_Think_ for a moment, Stark." A world-weary smile crossed Loki's face. "I have had every single one of my precious children taken from me already. And now there's this. The Chitauri still persist in hunting me down; imagine what they would do to a child of mine. As well as that I am SHEILD's number one most wanted – as you yourself like to point out – they would hardly want any progeny of mine on the loose. Not to mention the research potential a half Jötunn half human hybrid would have. No. I will not go through the pain and heartbreak of giving birth only to lose yet another child to an enemy."

It made sense. In a completely broken and desperate way it made sense. Tony couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose one's own child and according to the myths Loki had already lost seven. It made terrible sense that he just couldn't bear to go through that again.

"Okay. I think I get that." The man said quietly. "So what do you plan to do?"

"I was going to ask you that." Loki looked up to meet Tony's pained gaze. "I am intending to find some maternity ward somewhere where I can leave the child. I cannot be in its life without putting it in danger so this seems the best option." He sighed heavily, shakily. "Or."

There was a weighty pause that Tony felt compelled to fill. "Or what?"

"Or I give the child to its father. To you." The God's pained gaze seemed endless as he stared at the man. "Those are the only options. I have to give it away and I feel that I should at least give you some say in this. So that's my offer: Either I leave the babe in a hospital and neither of us shall know any more of the matter or I give it to you, and you raise it."

Tony's eyes looked like saucers. A child.

A _child_!

He was still struggling to get his head around the idea of Loki being pregnant and then there was _this_ bombshell!

A _CHILD_!

He was in no position to be a fit father! He had an absurdly dangerous job, made all the worse for how he risked his life needlessly for the fun of it! He had had a rubbish role-model growing up, had no time to look after a kid and just plain wouldn't have a clue what he was doing!

He couldn't do this!

There was no _way_ he could do this!

And Loki was looking at him with the most intense and broken gaze he'd ever seen.

How the hell was he meant to make the biggest and most life-changing decision he'd ever faced in the span of a few moments?!

And yet…And yet he already knew his answer. Knew his answer before the question had even been asked really. He was getting on in years, as much as he pretended that it wasn't the case. The big five oh was looming ever closer, and his life was anything but settled. Pepper had been the longest relationship he'd ever had and they'd lasted all of seven months. What were the chances of him finding a person to spend the rest of his life with if he couldn't hold onto a woman like Pepper and his idea of a good shag was the God of mischief?! If he wanted children there was going to be little to no chance of that with his life-style. Other than whelping some kid on a drunken one-night stand – and it was a miracle that _that_ hadn't already happened – he was unlikely to ever have one.

But if he did this he would be alone.

No-one could ever know who the mother – if Loki could be referred to as that – was under any circumstances. Even Pepper couldn't know. He'd have to look after and raise a child without letting anyone know the circumstances and as a single parent.

Sure, there were millions of single parents in the world who did a fabulous job, but none of them were the danger-seeking Tony Stark. He could only mess this up and cause the kid to grow up with so many issues that the best shrink in the world couldn't sort them out.

And yet…

"Yes."

"Pardon?" The shock in Loki's voice was palpable. It was obviously the last thing he'd expected to hear the man say.

"Yes. I'll raise the kid." Even as he said the words Tony wondered what the hell he was thinking. This meant his whole life and way of living being turned on its head. Destroyed. He was throwing away everything to gain…everything.

This could easily mean the end of Ironman. Would he even have the time to be an Avenger anymore?

His world, ending, on a simple answer. On a simple yes.

And already he knew he'd given the right answer.

"I'll raise the kid." He repeated.

For a long moment the God just stared at him, before leaning in to rest his head on the man's shoulder. "Thank you." Some of the tenseness seemed to leave him as he said it. "I was hoping that would be your decision."

"I'd better warn you, I'm going to be a lousy Dad."

"No. You've experienced bad parenting, and that in turn will ensure that you will endeavour not to make the same mistakes." The God said quietly. "I found that after having my first." He shifted awkwardly again. "What are you going to tell your band of mis-fits when you turn up with a newborn?"

"That a pissed off one-night stand turned up and dumped the sprog on me." Bullshit, was, after all, one of his many talents and Tony finally managed a smile. "And that's actually partly the truth. Aside from the fact that you weren't just one night."

Loki huffed in quiet laughter then flinched, tensing up against the human.

And then it hit Tony. Why the trickster looked like shit, why he had been moving as if in pain and why he was still hunched up and wincing.

"Shit! Loki, are you in labour?!"

The God actually had the audacity to roll his eyes. "Have you only just noticed?"

"I…Yes, yes I have only just noticed!" Tony looked horrified. "Shit! What are you…Can you use your mojo or something?"

Loki laughed again and sat up straight to shake his head. "No, sadly not. I used up my last reserves getting myself here. It's too dangerous to attempt any magic whilst under the influence of the hormones and pain during labour, so my powers automatically drain as a self-preservation device. Soon enough any spells I have cast over myself will fail too, which will then make the birthing process a lot easier since I shall be fully equipped with what I will need."

Ironman shook his head hurriedly to try and rid himself of the mental image that was never-the-less seared into his brain for the rest of eternity. "You mean, like…woman's bits?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Do you even _know_ how children enter this world?"

"Of course I do, it's just…" Tony gestured helplessly, unable to explain just how much the entire situation was scaring the shit out of him. He took another deep breath and tried to form a focussed thought, rather than just panicking. "Ok. You're in labour. What's your plan?"

He received a politely blank stare in return. "Why do you wish to know?" Loki sounded genuinely curious. "I've told you what's happening; you've told me what you would like for the child's future. Now I'll be leaving."

"_Leaving_?"

"What is this fascination of yours for repeating every other word I say? Yes, Stark, _leaving_. There is a motel just down the road where I can rent a room for the night. I will be back with the child once my powers have returned, which will probably be mid-morning."

"What? Alone?"

"I've always given birth alone." Loki looked nonplussed, as if the man was struggling to understand a very simple concept.

And the five simple words sent a wave of sudden cold through Tony.

Okay, as much as he was freaking out, he was well aware of how babies entered the world. After an argument with Pepper he had even seen a documentary on it, which had made him go down on his knees and thank any God listening that he was a man and therefore would never have to go through such a thing. And if nothing else the two big things he knew about childbirth were that it was fucking painful and absolutely _terrifiying_.

On top of it all was also the implication that Loki had had to suffer through it at least once without any help from his family or friends back in Asgard. And once again he intended to go through it all alone in some strange motel room without any medical assistance or moral support.

Sure, Tony was a hard-hearted bastard but this was too much.

"Hell no!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You aren't just swanning off to some random shit-hole to do this!" Tony was both furious and scandalised at the same time. "This is my kid too and I'm not letting you go through this on your own! You're going to stay here and we'll get through this together!"

Loki stared at the man like he'd grown antlers. "You want me to stay here…?" Tony had never heard the God sound so shocked or vulnerable before and in turn it shook him. "Why would you do that?"

"Because."

"That's not an answer, Stark!"

The man scowled, unable to even really explain it to himself let alone the God next to him. "Fine then. Honestly? I'm not sure. Maybe because I know what it's like to be alone in a dark strange place, in pain with no escape, and I can't find it in me to let that happen to anyone else. Even you."

"Even me…" Loki's head found the man's shoulder again, this time turned in so that his face was pressed against Tony's collar-bone. Another shudder ran through him, but this time the human realised that it was less from pain and more from the emotional realisation that had just hit Loki. "I've never had the luxury of feeling safe before." The God's voice was soft and somewhat muffled. "Thank you…Tony."

Well; there was a first.

The God had never called him by his first name before.

He rather liked how it sounded in that soft British accent.

Tony belatedly realised that his arm had somehow snaked around the God's waist in a loose approximation of a hug. He sighed heavily and tipped his head to rest on top of Loki's dark hair.

"This is fucking crazy."

"Agreed." The trickster chuckled quietly.

"So…uh…what happens now?"

"Things will happen at their own pace." Loki's hand came to rest against his still-flat stomach. "It has been a few hours already, so maybe only another two or three."

"…Wow." And to think – barely an hour ago he didn't even know that he was going to be a father. Now the moment seemed rather too near. He wished he was better at talking to people, better at comforting. His was a life of machinery and science; he didn't do emotional situations, let alone the birth of his first-born! Instead all he could do was offer the very awkward hug he currently had Loki in.

"Sir, may I suggest that if you wish for Mr Laufeyjarson to give birth here then you should read up on what that entails?"

Both men jumped at the sound of Jarvis' voice and Tony scowled at the interruption. He did recognise that the AI was correct though; it _would_ be rather useful for him to know what on earth was about to happen.

"I know what needs to happen; it would be unnecessary for you to learn." Loki said, still muffled against the mortal's shoulder.

"You are incorrect, Mr Laufeyjayson." Jarvis could sound ever so patronising when he wished. "It would be for the best for both of you to understand the procedure."

"I _do_ understand the procedure!" Tony protested. "Lots of pushing and screaming and _et voila_, baby!" He looked surprised when Loki raised his head from his shoulder to stare at him incredulously. "What?"

"_What_?! Jarvis, please inform Mr Stark of all he can expect in the next few hours. I don't think he _is_ quite aware of what will happen after all."

"Doing so, sir."

Tony rolled his eyes. There was a faint _ping_ from the tablet he'd discarded when the God had turned up and he grabbed it up to see a new PDF file uploading. Quite a _large_ file.

Next to him Loki lay back against the covers of the bed with a chuckle. "Well, you have work to do and I want to rest whilst I can because this is going to start getting difficult soon enough. Sound fair?"

The man could only really nod with a heavy sigh as he opened the document.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Nearly an hour had passed. Not for the first time Tony was truly thankful that he was so good at speed reading. He had absorbed the facts the document contained and was now realising he was almost as worried as if he were the one giving birth; there was so much to think about.

"Stop fretting, all will be fine." The soft voice drew him back from his thoughts.

"Doesn't seem that way right now."

Loki smiled tiredly. He was curled up on his left side, head on the pillows and one hand clutching at the bedspread with each new pain. Thanks to an idea from Jarvis the trickster had divested himself of his leggings and undergarments before the active labour began in earnest and now a fleece blanket covered his lower half. He smiled tiredly as Stark came into his line of sight, sitting awkwardly next to him.

"It won't last long. Another hour or so maybe. It's quicker since this isn't my first."

"How many have you had?"

"Don't you know that from your Norse myths?"

"Well, yeah, but I'm trying to get you to talk to me so that you focus on something other than pain right now."

That caused Loki to huff quietly with laughter. The last of his spells had faded by this point and his hand now rested on the prominent swell of his stomach and it tensed as the next pain increased. They were steadily growing in intensity and he knew it wouldn't be long before the _real_ fun began.

"Fine. I agree that talking may be a good distraction. You were asking about my children?"

"Yeah. How many have you had then?" Tony winced with sympathy as the God drew in a sharp gasp of pain and he gingerly attempted to pat his shoulder.

"I am not some dog, Stark."

"Back to last names again?"

There was a pause before the pain passed by then Loki cracked an eye open to glare up at the human. "That was a moment of sentiment. Don't read anything into it."

"Yeah, sure. I mean, it's not like you're having my kid or anything." Tony said cheerfully. Still, he did remove the offending hand. "So. Children?"

"I fathered six, and then there is my son Sleipnir, whom I bore."

"And…?"

The God frowned at him, for once looking taken-aback. "What do you mean, 'and'? Your myths only speak of my seven."

Tony smiled smugly. "Yeah, but as a scientist I'm used to nit-picking documents apart to find every little detail." He absentmindedly reached out as the trickster hissed with pain again and ran his hand along the God's shoulder – less like patting a dog this time – and to his surprise wasn't rebuffed. "You see, I read a translation of something some Viking bloke wrote. Called the Hyund…Hanad…Hyananana…Jarvis?"

"Hyndluljóð, sir."

"Right. What he said." Tony waved his spare hand flippantly. "It's a collection of all the stories about you guys and there's a very interesting snippet about you in there."

"Indeed?"

"Oh yeah. See, just after the bit about the eight legged horse is a fragment about how you ate a woman's heart and she impregnated you. Sadly the rest of the text is lost – so man-kind doesn't know what happened next."

Loki was staring at him in horror. "It says I _ate_ a woman's heart?!"

"Roasted. No accounting for taste."

"That is the vilest mistranslation I have ever had the misfortune to hear!" The trickster looked sickened at the thought. "The original manuscript said nothing of the sort!" Then, and entirely without prompting he began speaking in a language so alien that Tony couldn't even differentiate where one word ended and the next began.

The inventor had heard Danish and Swedish spoken before, and if asked he would have suggested that the language of the ancient Norsemen would be similar. Boy was he wrong! The ancient verse rolled into the air around them, a strange rhythm and cadence to it that almost sounded like poetry. Loki didn't even look like he was having to make an effort to remember the forgotten piece and he finished reciting with a smug look to Tony. "The word was _consumed_ not _ate_."

"What difference does that make?"

"The words ate and roasted were taken out of context in a mistranslation – 'she was consumed by the flames of love' is the correct interpretation. She was in love with me."

"And you didn't return the sentiments."

"Evidently not." Loki managed a wry smile. "As a powerful witch she managed to cast a spell over me that caused me to conceive. It may have worked out for the two of us if Thor hadn't killed her for - oh how did he put it? - 'defiling his little brother'."

"Ah. And the child?"

Tony had to wait for an answer as the trickster suddenly tensed up, his hand clenching to a white knuckled grip in the sheets. The pains were noticeably getting closer together and lasting longer. However, he went straight back to the subject at hand the moment he could speak.

"Think about it, Stark. The child of a powerful witch and unsurpassed sorcerer, born a few hundred years before the Viking era. A child with no father."

Tony's expression broke into a wide grin. It wasn't for naught that he had ruthlessly read through every legend and story he could find about the lands the pagan God's had once been worshiped in. There was a certain _very_ famous person from the time-frame Loki spoke of and whom legend spoke of as being a child without a father. "No way. _Seriously?_ I thought he was a myth!"

"Stark, _I_ am a myth."

"Yeah, but _Merlin_?"

Loki smiled at the look of awe on the man's face. "I taught him how to use his magic before setting him on his path in life. He surpassed all my expectations. I never dreamt that an offspring of mine could be the hero he grew into."

The fondness in the God' s voice made Tony acutely aware of just how much the ancient warlock had meant to Loki. How much _all _his children must mean to him.

"Two thousand years later and we still remember him." The man said softly.

"I know." If the God wanted to extrapolate on the subject he was ruthlessly cut off with a sudden gasp, eyes widening. He reached out, almost blindly, to grab Tony's hand in a crushing grip.

"Hey, hey it's okay, relax." The man was no expert, and certainly no midwife, but he had read the essay Jarvis had written up and seen enough cliché films to know the drill for what he was meant to say. "Breath, right? Keep breathing."

"I _am_ fucking breathing!"

Well. He'd never heard Loki swear like _that_ before.

"Sure, good job, keep it up."

The pain diminished and the trickster glared up at him. "I _hate_ you."

"Yeah, I know."

Loki closed his eyes again with a frustrated snarl, shifting around uncomfortably. It was obvious that he was in terrible pain and doing his very best not to show it. Tony couldn't imagine how difficult it must be.

"Ask me another question." It was a demand.

"What?"

"A question, something taxing that can distract me from this!"

That made sense at least. Tony felt somewhat proud that the trickster was continuing to use his idea of distraction tactics.

"Okay, um…What's more painful; lips sewn shut or giving birth?"

The glare he received in return could have melted an entire glacier. "Wait until my magic is back and you'll find ou-ah!" The sudden sound of pain surprised both men and Loki curled in on himself with a groan. His grip on Tony's hand began to threaten breaking bones and it was all the human could do to not show it. "Distraction…please…"

Right, God of lies saying please.

That at least shook Tony enough to think about something serious he could ask.

And then he realised that he didn't have to think at all. The question had been on the tip of his tongue since he first saw Loki after the trickster's escape.

"Why? Why did you do it? The chitauri and everything."

There wasn't a reply for a few moments – Loki simply lying as still as he could, crushing Tony's hand into a pulp. He seemed to be endeavouring not to make a sound, which was impressive in itself. Tony suspected that the God had a pretty high pain tolerance.

Finally the trickster seemed to relax slightly, releasing his hold on the man's possibly-broken hand. He managed a watery smile when the question registered.

"The chitauri? I imagine that's something all of you have been wondering about for a while."

"Just a bit. Care to spill? I imagine there's a lot of details that none of us are aware of."

"More than you can know. What were you told about what happened prior to my…_disappearance_ from Asgard?"

Tony smirked. "You mean how you usurped the throne?"

"_Usurped the_- I did _not_ usurp _anything_!" As tired as he was, Loki still succeeded in sounding furious. "Is that what my fool of a step-brother told you?!" He snapped. "My father was in what you mortal's call a coma and Thor was banished for a criminal offence. The line of succession fell to me! What was I to do? After that…well, I'd just found out that I was essentially the Bogey-man. I wasn't very happy."

"And that led to you falling off the rainbow-bridge?"

"The bifrost, yes."

"And that's where the whole chitauri-rule-the-world thing came in?"

Loki nodded. "I fell through the void." His gaze slide away from the man next to him and for a long moment it was as if he were looking into an entirely different time and space. "Do you know how large the universe is?"

"Infinite."

"Correct." The trickster shuddered. "Imagine seeing that. Imagine seeing every galaxy, every quasar, every star and planet and spinning atom within existence. Imagine what that would feel like."

Tony tried, but all that he could think of was how he would give anything to see the universe spread out infront of him. This sentiment must have shown on his face because Loki snarled at him.

"Fool. I can see the wish in your eyes. It is not what you think." He hissed. "The whole _universe_, every infinitesimal speck and gleam of creation. And I was spinning through all of it, so tiny, so useless. A nothing. That's what I was, and am in the grand scheme of things. A nothing. Can you _imagine_ what it feels like to be a king, a _God_ and to then realise in all actuality that when faced with the universe you are less than the smallest speck of dust." He closed his eyes with a shuddering breath. "It broke me. By the time I reached the world of the Chitauri my mind was so fractured that I was susceptible to anything they said or did to me."

"Why Earth?"

"Why not? They suggested the target, I just went along with it. The only rational I had at the time was that by ruling a world I could have made at least some small impact on history."

"You're a pagan God, I think you've made a pretty big impact on our history already."

Loki didn't seem to hear the well-meaning statement as he continued on regardless. "By the time I came back to my senses it was too late. The invasion was underway and backing out of the deal would not have boded well for me. As it is, they still hunt me."

"Well…I now owe Bruce fifty bucks." Tony smiled at the withering glare he received. "I had a wager that you did it because you were bored. Bruce thought you were insane."

"He was correct, then." The simple sentence was spat out, although not from anger. The trickster had tensed up again, curling up into a tight ball underneath the fleece blanket. Tony mentally counted the seconds and realised that Loki didn't relax until nearly a minute had passed; things were progressing quicker than he'd expected.

Everything he'd read that Jarvis had sent him spoke of this phase of labour taking many hours, and he hadn't fully taken into account how much shorter it could be if it wasn't a first child.

"You know, you should probably roll onto your back. I don't think it's going to be very long now." He tried to sound confident as he said it but there was a noticeable tremor of fear to his voice.

"Don't…want to…move." The God struggled to get the words out as he gasped heavily.

"Yeah, it wasn't a suggestion, Goat-horns." Rather than stall and let another contraction freeze the trickster with pain again, Tony simply decided to act.

Despite Loki's protestations he allowed Stark to help him manoeuvre onto his back, reclaiming the mortal's hand in the process. He settled down with a deep groan, turning his face away from the man to try and hide it. His free hand had moved back to rest on his swollen stomach, fingers clawing at the blanket.

About fifteen minutes passed like that, Loki fighting to stay silent, obstinately refusing to let Tony see the way the pain was twisting his expression. However, what he couldn't hide was the sweat running down his skin, trickling through his hair and down into his tunic. And he couldn't hide the tenseness of his shoulders as they shook and shuddered with the effort to stay inaudible.

Tony knew enough from the document he'd read to know that the trickster was probably at the stage where he should be pushing, but so far didn't appear to be doing so. He ran the hand that wasn't in a vice-like grip over the trickster's forehead, smoothing back sweat-soaked hair.

"Hey, you don't need to keep up the pride right now." He said gently. "Stop trying to be strong; it's okay to admit that you're scared and in pain."

Loki shook his head mutely, eyes squeezed closed and mouth pressed into a thin hard line. He let his breath out with a gasp when Tony's hand came to gently rest on top of his own on his stomach.

"Look at me, Loki."

Hazy green eyes slowly opened to meet the man's concerned gaze.

"You need to calm down. You know this; you've done this before. Calm down and focus. It's not going to be long now."

The words seemed to take a moment to sink in. Then a tiny smile graced the God's face.

"Sentiment…Stark?"

"Just this once. I think this is a situation that allows for it. Now. Are you going to stop clinging to your pride and let me help you?"

This time Loki's gaze met his head on with frightening intensity. It made Tony realise just how vulnerable the trickster was. With no magic and in terrible pain, Loki was as helpless as he would ever be, and he was putting his trust in the mortal to not take advantage of that.

It was rather humbling really.

Finally the God gave a curt nod in answer to the question before shuddering and closing his eyes again. Tony didn't waste any more time and helped to pull the trickster up so that he was sitting rather than lying.

"Here, lean back on me." Tony scooted behind him, so that he was leaning against the head-board and Loki could rest back into him. He rested his hands on the God's stomach, feeling the muscles bunch and tense. "Okay, there we go. Now I think you've got some work to do."

"I…think I hate you." Loki hissed angrily, before letting out a deep groan of pain.

It was a new experience to have someone with him during this time, and as the pain threatened to over-whelm he suddenly realised how grateful he was. The human wasn't able to help in any physical way, but by being there, warm arms circling in an embrace and chin resting on Loki's shoulder, Tony was providing the sort of emotional support the trickster could only have dreamed of during his previous births.

He hated to admit that it was comforting. Hated to admit that he was accepting the help without protesting in the slightest. However, now that the intense pain was insisting that he got the baby out of his body once and for all he determined to worry about all of that at a later date.

It frightened Tony when the trickster finally did give in and arch back against him with a cry of pure agony, hands spasmodically clenching and unclenching in the blanket that was still covering his lower body.

It hurt. Oh by _Valhalla_ did it hurt! He had forgotten just how bad it could be and now wondered how in the name of Odin he had managed to do this alone twice before. It seemed like time was barely passing – every excruciating moment drawing out into eternity. In reality it only took about a further thirty minutes, but to the two of them it could have been millennia.

"Sir, may I interrupt?"

Tony jumped and scowled up at the ceiling, for lack of a better target, as Jarvis' voice suddenly broke into the private struggle. Thankfully it seemed that Loki was far too distracted to have heard the AI.

"You already have. What is it, Jarv?"

"The baby is probably crowning, sir. You will need to assist."

Shit. Yeah, that was a point. Tony didn't reply, but reminded himself to thank Jarvis later. Pulling some pillows back into arms-reach he then wriggled out from behind Loki, using said cushions to help prop the trickster up and keep him sitting.

"Sta…rk?"

"Keep going, you're doing fine; it's getting to the end of the road now and someone needs to catch the sprog."

What an elegant way to phrase it.

It had reached the point that Tony was so concerned about doing this right it didn't even occur to him about being embarrassed seeing Loki's true hermaphroditic form under the blanket. He had no professional training, all he knew about child-birth came from a PDF that he'd read a few hours ago and suddenly he was here; midwife to a God.

It seemed that Jarvis' warning had come in good time, because it was barely a few more minutes before Loki screamed and Tony suddenly found himself helping a tiny child into the world.

_His_ tiny child.

The infant opened its mouth and made a quiet hiccupping noise that grew into its first cry.

Tony felt tears fill his eyes.

It was tiny, squalling, bright red and covered with both after-birth and streaks of blood, yet Stark loved it. Instantly and irrevocably.

He quickly picked up the towel that had been placed at the foot of the bed for this very purpose, and gently wrapped the infant in it. The mewling cries died down at the contact, large eyes half-lidded and as yet unable to focus on anything. It looked like an alien and yet was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen in his life.

"What is it…?" Loki's voice was barely a whisper, hoarse and broken. He'd rolled back onto his side, curling in on himself so that his modesty was covered again.

"A girl. We have a daughter. A perfect little daughter." Tony knew that his trembling voice betrayed his emotions, and he couldn't bring himself to care.

"A daughter…"

"She's beautiful." Tony carefully cut and tied the umbilical cord before cradling the tiny girl in his arms. "Here, look."

"No."

The single worded answer seemed to freeze the world.

"…What?" Tony's voice was tiny and incredulous. "Don't you want to see her?"

"No." Loki had curled up tightly into a ball, having wrapped his arms around himself. He was shaking, trembling like a leaf in the breeze.

"Loki…"

"No. I…I can't see her."

"_Why_? Why the _hell_ not?!"

"Because I can't afford to love her." The whisper was so small Tony nearly missed it. "I can't be part of her life so I can't love her."

The mortal shook his head, despite the fact that the trickster couldn't see him. "Rubbish." He said quietly. "That's complete rubbish, and you know it."

"Stark-"

"No. You've carried her for nine months. Felt her move, felt her grow. And you just spent hours in God-awful pain to bring her into this world. You _already_ love her, and if you don't see her now, you will regret it for the rest of your life!"

Loki shuddered, his shoulders hitching with a barely suppressed sob. He had closed his eyes, so felt rather than saw the mattress dip as Tony sat down beside him. There was a quiet snuffle barely an inch from his face and he felt Tony's hand come to rest on his shoulder.

"Loki, look."

The God opened his eyes.

The baby was lying next to him, wrapped up in a fluffy towel, blinking owlishly into the middle distance. Loki stared at her like she was the only thing in the universe.

For a very very long moment there was complete silence, the three of them in some sort of frozen tableau. Tony was sat on the edge of the bed, one hand on Loki's shoulder, the other supporting his daughter where she lay. Silent tears were running down his cheeks, entirely unnoticed. Loki remained on his side, one hand gingerly reached out to rest his fingertips on the child's stomach.

There weren't words.

The baby snuffled again, her nose scrunching as she did so and Loki finally began to sob softly.

"What's her name?" Tony whispered. The God's broken gaze moved up to meet the man's in open-mouthed shock.

"You wish me to name her?" He breathed.

"Yeah. Something of you to carry with her."

Loki's eyes moved back to his daughter and for a brief moment he wasn't a God, wasn't an all-powerful being and wasn't an ageless immortal who had lived for millennia. He was just an ordinary man faced with the miracle of meeting his own child for the first time. Tears were slipping down his face as he gently brushed his finger along the little girl's cheek. She made a quiet chirruping sound in response, like a baby bird and he laughed brokenly.

"Evelyn."

"Evelyn?" Tony rolled the name around in his mouth, trying it out for sound. It was somewhat old fashioned and out-dated, and not what he would have thought the God would go for. In truth he'd been expecting their daughter to be saddled with an unpronounceable ancient Norse name. "I could get used to it. Not as Asgardian as I was expecting."

Loki smiled as their daughter snuffled again, her mouth opening and closing like a chick. "It's of ancient Germanic origin, another of the peoples who used to worship us. It means little bird."

Tony face split into a wide grin. "Oh, I like it! Evelyn. _Evie_."

"Evie…yes, that is acceptable." The trickster smiled up at the man before a wince crossed his expression.

Tony frowned. "What? Are you alright?"

"Fool." The single word was fond, though, almost an endearment. "Think what has happened over the past few hours. I've just put my body through torture and am exhausted."

"Oh. Yeah, of course." The inventor grinned sheepishly. For a genius he could be surprisingly dense at times. "Will you be alright?"

"Of course. My magic will return soon." Loki began to slowly and painfully pull himself upright and sank back against the pillows again with a sigh. He looked shocked when Tony promptly placed the child – _Evelyn_ – in his arms. She blinked blearily in his general direction, but couldn't focus enough to make eye contact.

"She's beautiful." Tony repeated his earlier comment.

"Of course she is." With the soft comment the trickster's eyes filled with sadness. "I wish I could see her grow up." He tickled the baby's cheek and she snuffled at him.

"There must be some way that we can work this out. You've been visiting me over the past two years and I haven't had any chitauri turn up on the doorstep asking about you yet." Tony said desperately. "Why would they suddenly turn up now?"

Loki rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh. "Why can you never seem to use that brain you claim is so good, Stark? Occasionally visiting is one thing; helping to raise a child is completely another. If I keep my distance there is no reason for them to ever suspect she's my child – I doubt they realise that my physiology means I can bear children. However, if I have an active role in her life then it will arouse their suspicions and we can't afford for that to happen." He looked down at the tiny child in his arms again. "I won't have her used against me."

It made sense, it really did. Tony couldn't imagine how the God had to be feeling in that moment. To be forced into giving up his child – to be in a position where it was the best and only option. Something no-one should ever have to face and by all accounts something Loki had already been forced through with his other children. It was heart-breaking.

But Tony was well-known for being able to look through problems sideways and find solutions that other people couldn't see when facing the conundrum head-on. Sure, Loki was easily as clever as the man and then some, but currently he was exhausted both physically and mentally and could only see despair. He had spent far too long assuring himself that it was a hopeless situation to be able to see any way out.

However, Ironman was beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Not a big light, to be fair, but a light non-the-less.

"How about if you were to visit a few times a year? It wouldn't be ideal, and you wouldn't be able to really have much of a hand in raising her, but at least you could _see_ her." He said slowly. "If you were to come maybe once or twice a year – perhaps on her birthday – then she could at least grow up knowing who you are and that you love her."

"And is that such a good idea?" Loki's voice was soft and bitter. "What child would want _me_ as their parent? Wouldn't she be better off not knowing that she is the progeny of a monster?"

Tony shrugged lightly. "But you won't be a monster to her, will you? She'll be seeing you as a loving parent."

"She'll see the old news releases –"

"And I will tell her the _truth_."

The God's burning gaze met the mortal's head-on. "_Why do you care so much about this_?!"

Tony didn't seem at all perturbed by the fury. "Because as much as both of us pretend otherwise, there is some _sentiment_ creeping into this relationship and – in case you didn't notice – we now happen to have a child together too." He said firmly. "A child that deserves _both_ her parents! So excuse _me_ if I want to make sure you –"

"Shh."

His angry tirade was cut off by Loki's soft hush and he followed the tricksters gaze down.

Entirely undisturbed by her bickering parents, Evie had fallen asleep nestled securely in the tricksters arms. Tucked up in the fluffy towel, all that could really be seen of her were her face and one tiny hand and Tony felt his heart melt all over again.

"Her birthday and Yule." Loki said softly.

"Huh? What?"

"I will visit on her birthday and on Yule – or Christmas if you prefer." He looked up at Stark. "Is that agreeable with you?"

Tony gave a small chuckle. "More than." He looked up as Jarvis suddenly cut in on the delicate conversation.

"Sir, I am picking up an unusual energy surge, source unknown."

"That would be me," Loki held up a hand in the manner that a falconer would wait for his bird to perch on his wrist. "My powers are returning." As he said it tendrils of light appeared around his fingers, gently swirling before seeping into his skin. He smiled at the gentle warmth as his magic flowed back to where it belonged.

Tony saw the delicate smile on the God's face and was surprised by the sudden surge of warmth he felt towards SHEILD's number one enemy. The enemy currently cradling their sleeping child.

He couldn't help a sudden chuckle as Loki waved a hand lazily and all the mess from the birth was vanished away, the sheets straightening out and all evidence of what had transpired gone. The God had re-dressed himself in the tunic and leggings he'd arrived in, although this time not looking half as shabby as he had been. The smile now gracing his face looked more relaxed as well but turned to a wicked grin when he saw Tony's curious expression.

"I severely dislike delivering the placenta. Thankfully my powers usually return in time for me to sort it out."

"…Did _not_ need to know that."

Loki looked unbearably smug at the man's discomfort. Evie moved slightly in his arms and he looked down at her, his expression immediately softening again. He ran his finger along the length of her tiny nose and she settled down.

"I should be going." He whispered. "It's almost dawn."

"It's weird to say it, but I wish you didn't have to."

"We have come a long way since I threw you out of that window, Tony Stark."

Both their gazes moved back to the sleeping miracle nestled in Loki's arms. Tony was having trouble keeping in mind that the furious God who had thrown him from his own tower was the same as the one now holding their daughter. The same one whom he didn't want to see go.

"Um, are there any Asgardian things I should do?" It was all he could really think about asking. Pleading for Loki to stay wasn't going to work so the best he could do was find out anything extra he needed to know before the trickster left. "Any naming ceremonies or anything important you want? I'll probably have her Christened, if that's okay to you – it's the way we roll here in the States. I don't, you know, really believe as such but…"

"A baptism will suffice as a naming ceremony." Loki said distantly. "There are very few traditions we follow that can be upheld in this world. However…" He held up a single hand again, thin green ribbons trailing out of it. "I can offer her this much."

The magic curled around itself, pulsing and coiling to form a solid shape. Stark held his breath as he watched matter being spun out of nothing, something he'd been taught pretty much from birth was impossible. Finally the green tendrils condensed into a single form, fading away to reveal wood underneath.

A simple yet elegant rattle lay in the God's hand, roughly the same length of his outstretched palm. It had a delicately carved handle and a bulbous head that, when moved, sounded like it was filled with bells.

"It is custom for an Æsir to be presented with a hand-made gift from its mother on the day of its birth." Loki said softly. "It is kept by the child throughout their life as a good luck token of sorts – because it was made from love." A sad smile crossed his face. "Not being an Æsir, I never received one at my birth. However, Frigga made me a fleece blanket once she and Odin decided to keep me."

"Did you keep it?"

Tony's question seemed to take the God by surprise.

"Yes, actually. I have it still." Loki's eyes seemed unusually misty as he tucked the rattle next to his daughter and her tiny hand instinctively tried to curl around the handle even in her sleep. "Take this gift as a symbol of my love, my dear, and know that even when I am not with you, I am watching over you." He kissed the baby's forehead before gently handing the sleeping bundle over to Tony. "I must go now."

"I…Yeah. Yeah."

For the longest moment the two men merely stared at each other, before Loki impulsively reached out and pulled Tony into a deep kiss, their child sandwiched between them. There was hopelessness there, the God's hands both coming up to cup the inventors cheeks with a desperation he'd never shown in front of his partner before. It was bittersweet, tainted by the longing for something that they both knew couldn't be. Emotions that neither dared to acknowledge even to themselves and certainly not to each other hung heavy in the air, all stained by the word they now considered dirty.

_Sentiment_.

Loki broke the kiss first, although his hands remained against Tony's cheeks, his forehead pressed to the inventor's. "Thank you for being here throughout this." He breathed. "I have never been able to trust one as I trusted you whilst so vulnerable. I am in your debt, Tony."

Ironman took note of the use of his name, and all of the things that Loki _wasn't_ saying. "Just make sure you visit as you promised and I'll consider the debt paid." His voice was soft, but tone emphatic enough to make it clear that he _meant_ it.

"I will. Good bye for now, Tony."

The genius smiled. "I prefer _au revoir_."

The God vanished with a sad chuckle.

The room was eerily empty and silent without the presence of the Trickster. Tony sank back on the neatly made bed, his gaze riveted to his daughters sleeping face. With Loki there it had been like a surreal dream really, something wonderful and not quite true. With the God gone reality suddenly made an unwelcome reappearance.

"Jarvis, what the hell am I going to do?" He whispered. "What on earth have I let myself in for?"

"Some would say the greatest adventure that can be undertaken, sir."

Tony felt something on his face and lifted his hand to wipe away a tear. He gazed at the trail of moisture like he'd never seen the like before.

"I don't know what I'm doing, I can't raise a baby!" He stared back down at the child, his face a picture of fear and misery. "What the hell am I doing?! I haven't even got any baby stuff or anything! How am I meant to feed her?! Where the hell will she sleep?!" Panic was getting the better of the man and the words came out as a frantic sob.

"I took the liberty of buying you some of the essentials soon after it was decided that you would keep your daughter." Jarvis didn't have too much of a vocal range, but he managed to sound vaguely comforting. "The order arrived an hour ago and I had Dum-E bring it up and set it all up in your private lounge."

Tony hadn't even had a thought to spare for giving Evelyn her own room. Now his worried gaze moved to the closed door leading off of his bed-room. Beyond it was his personal lounge that – once the rest of the Avenger's had moved in – he'd stopped using entirely. There had been some half-baked notions to turn it into a mini-lab, but a nursery seemed a much better plan.

"Yeah. Yeah, well done Jarv." He managed to process the rest of what the AI said. "What sort of stuff did you buy?"

"A cot, changing mat, changing table, all of the associated paraphernalia, baby milk-powder, diapers, buggy, car-seat, sleepsuits, various other clothes-"

The list went on and it soon became apparent that Jarvis' idea of 'the essentials' actually encompassed everything that could ever be needed for a newborn, plus some handy extras should an apocalypse suddenly occur. He had covered _every_ angle. Tony had often thought about how he couldn't cope without the AI, but this time Jarvis had outdone himself beyond all imagining.

"Sir?" The computer's voice drew Stark out of the musing and he jumped slightly.

"Huh?"

"I asked if you would like a coffee sir, you may feel the need for it."

Yeah, coffee sounded like a plan and a half. "Yeah, thanks Jarv." After all, it wasn't like he'd be going back to sleep any time soon. Tony took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down again. On second thoughts, maybe so much caffeine wasn't such a good plan if he was so anxious. "Actually, cancel the coffee and make it a hot chocolate."

"Yes sir. And congratulations, sir. On becoming a father."

He looked back down at the child.

_His_ child.

His _daughter_.

And knew that as hard as this was going to be, as much shit as the Avengers were going to give him and as much as he was going to have to give up on most of his favourite things in life, she was worth it.

Everything that having a child meant, the good and bad together and she was worth it.

"Thanks Jarvis."

**MWMWMWMWMWMWMWM**

**Well…Yeah.**

**They has a baby! Who saw that coming? *looks around at the cluster of raised hands* Oh, okay then, most of you. Never mind.**

**This was the first time I've written such a full on birth scene so any constructive comments would be very welcomed. Also it seems that feelings are developing! Ooh!**

**The next chapter will have some Avengers reactions to the new addition to the household as well as some SMUUUUT!**

**Love you all!**

**WMWMWMWMWMWMWMW**

**WARNINGS: As promised from the author's note.**

**Mpreg. (Be fair, it's cannon according to mythology).**

**Childbirth – specifically whilst still as a male but it IS Loki so he makes arrangements so that it all works.**

**Talk of losing a child/children.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow. There aren't words to describe how happy I am! The reviews I've received are staggering, as are the numbers of faves and follows – you guys can't believe how happy you've all made me! To know that people approve of the way I've tackled this subject is overwhelming. I just sincerely hope that I can continue to produce the goods!**

**MWMWMWMWMWM**

Stony silence.

Tony had thought he'd seen Pepper at her most furious. Apparently he was wrong.

She was sitting on his bed, having been called there by Jarvis the moment she'd entered the building that morning. Tony sat in the arm chair by his desk; Evelyn wrapped up in a blanket and snuggled in his arms. She was awake, staring off into the middles distance as newborn's generally do. The rattle was tucked in next to her and her tiny hand was curled around as much of the delicate stem as it could. Every now and then there was a gentle tinkle of bells as she moved and jostled it.

"And she just left you with a new born baby." Pepper repeated flatly. "After not having got in contact with you during the entirety of the pregnancy and not going to the press with the juicy story of being impregnated by Tony Stark on a drunken one-night stand."

"Shit happens Pepper." Tony was exhausted. He hadn't slept since Loki left, preferring to just sit and stare at the tiny miracle nestled in his arms. He'd already negotiated his way around the first feed – Jarvis was the one who actually worked out how to use the milk formula – and first nappy change. That had been a moment of pride! However, he hadn't slept for over twenty four hours and although he was more than used to going without rest, he had never done so whilst battling through such intense emotions. And admittedly there had been a few tears as well.

Pepper seemed to realise this as she wound her scowl back down from Bloody Furious to Unbelievably Exasperated. "Fine. I get that this has happened. I still can't believe that you didn't call me immediately! Some crazy woman shows up on your doorstep in the middle of the night, hands you a baby barely a few hours old, tells you it's yours and what? Just hands it over and explains she never wants to see it or you ever again?" She shook her head. "I smell lawsuit all over this, Tony. Can you even be sure the baby's yours?"

Uh, yeah, pretty damn sure. But he couldn't say that since he supposedly knew nothing about the whole thing so instead made something up. "I ran a paternity test. She's mine. Plus she has my nose."

"Yeah, I suppose she does." Pepper sounded ever so slightly wistful as she glanced at the baby, before glaring at Tony again. "And what on earth possessed you to agree to keeping her?!"

"She's my daughter." The reply was instant and simple. "And I know we won't have lawsuit problems – trust me on that. The mother doesn't want any contact. She's…kinda reclusive, so most certainly won't go to the press."

"You can't know that."

"No, I really can."

"Tony!" And the tone of voice said it all. "What in God's name do you think you're doing?! You can barely look after _yourself_, let alone a child!"

The cold anger sent a chill through the man. He had known that she wouldn't be impressed, but to just come out with it and tell him that she thought he'd be a lousy father was a little too much.

"Hey!" He made sure to keep his voice quiet, but there was still a noticeable bite to it. "I will let you get away with that comment purely because you have been the _one_ person to stick with me through the worst moments in my life and have put up with all the shit I could ever throw. But I am going to be a _fantastic_ Dad! Evelyn is a part of me, she's got half _my _genes, half _my_ DNA, and I am going to willingly throw the towel in on both the Avengers and Ironman if it means looking after her properly!"

The woman looked taken aback, a look of utter shock crossing her pretty face. "You'd give up on being Ironman?!"

"Yes!" The answer was immediate and entirely truthful.

There was a long and very uncomfortable silence, in which Tony relocated his attention onto Evelyn as she tried to focus on his face. Pretty much everything about her screamed Stark; the tuft of brown hair, the short nose, even her expression was set into an obstinate pout. But her eyes, oh her eyes were as un-Stark-like as they could be. Vibrant poison green, they were her only feature – currently – that bore any resemblance to Loki. Probably a good thing really, if they wanted to keep her parentage on the down-low.

He looked up again to see Pepper smiling sadly at him. "Oh Tony."

He was surprised to see that the anger had pretty much entirely vanished from her gaze, and the feeling that he'd missed something started to creep over him.

"Huh?"

"Of course I think you're capable of looking after a child. What I wasn't sure was if _you_ thought you were capable of doing so."

"You're…you're not mad at me?"

She smiled again, this time a lot more warmly. "No, I'm not mad. I just wanted to make sure that you are really aware of what this will mean for your life. And that you truly want to do this."

Crafty girl! Tony couldn't believe that he'd fallen for it – that he'd actually thought she was furious with him. Pepper had always been a damn good actress. However, he had to admit that it was a good way of determining what his commitment to this life-changing decision was. Especially since he hardly wanted to tell her about the conversation he'd had with Jarvis, lasting hours, on the exact same topic.

A quiet _bing_ from next to the desk made both Pepper and Tony look up. The electronic dumb waiter hatch had slide open to reveal a freshly made-up bottle of milk.

"Thanks Jarvis." Tony reached over and grabbed it, smiling sheepishly at his friend's amused look. "It's advised to feed a newborn every three hours to get them used to the process. This will be the third now."

"I'm impressed."

"Don't be." He grinned. "Jarvis is the one actually getting everything done." He rearranged Evelyn so that he could hold her in one arm and presented her with the bottle. She managed to focus on it and – this time – seemed to remember what was expected of her (the previous attempt had resulted in confusion all round and tears from both). And she seemed hungry.

"So, Evelyn? I would have thought something a little less usual would be more your style." Pepper said with a soft smile.

"Mum's choice. It means little bird."

Pepper slipped off the edge of the bed and quietly walked over to her friend, sitting down in the matching armchair so that she could see the baby more closely. "She does look like you." She conceded. "But she's cute, so she must take after her mum quite a bit too."

"Hey." Tony couldn't make it sound emphatic though, as he stared down at his daughter. "I still can't believe this." He admitted softly. "What did I ever do to deserve something so beautiful?"

"Don't, Tony. Don't go there. You're a good person and will be a great dad."

He glanced up at the red-head with a wry smile. "You think?"

She nodded emphatically. "Of course. I only said what I said earlier because I wanted to make sure that _you_ believed in yourself. That _you_ believed you'd be able to do this. Don't think for one minute that you don't deserve a family!"

The man smiled tiredly. "I hope I live up to your high expectations, Pep. I'd hate to let you down."

"You won't." She rose elegantly to her feet and leant forwards to kiss his forehead. "Do you want me to go and explain the situation to the others for you?"

What would he do without her?! "Oh God, would you?! I've been dreading the look on Hawk's face!"

"I thought as much." She flashed him a mischievous smile and straightened up. Her gaze lingered curiously on the baby for a few moments, but she was not a woman enamoured with small children so she was able to squash her impulse to ask to hold her. "I'll let you know how it goes." Evelyn hiccupped and Pepper's smile became adoring. Screw it – no-one is impervious to newborns! "Oh, and can I hold her when I get back?"

"Of course." Tony watched her leave the room then turned his gaze back to his daughter. She seemed to have tired of the bottle and turned away from it, eyes closing. "You tired, Evie?" He ran his finger down her nose in the same way that Loki had done, and the gesture seemed to calm her so that she slipped quickly into sleep. "Very tired, huh? Well, get some sleep, I have a feeling the next few days won't be easy."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

The accusing stares were actually quite painful. That surprised him; he was usually immune to such disdain.

"This has to be your dumbest venture to date." Fury was on video-call, his image projected on the huge TV screen in the main lounge. His voice was icy. "What possessed you to agree with this bitch and take in a child?! DNA tests aren't a contract, Stark, you don't have to keep the baby!"

"Uh, yeah I do." Tony had sat himself down on his favourite sofa, carrying Evelyn – it had reached the point where his arms felt empty without her. "She's my _daughter_. I don't know if you've ever heard of the term 'family', Fury, but it usually means a group of genetically linked people who look out for each other." He waved his free hand vaguely. "Or something like that. Either way – my daughter, my blood, my family. She stays."

"Your life-style is hardly appropriate for child-rearing!"

"Then I'll just have to change my lifestyle!"

That drew a sharp intake of breath from the other sofa and Tony glanced over to see Bruce leaning forward in concern. "Seriously? We're not just talking quitting the drinking, Tony."

Honestly! Did they all think him a child!?

"I know that! I'm fully prepared to throw the towel in on all this Avenger's crap." He snapped.

There was a chorus of exclamations at that remark. People just weren't used to Tony Stark being serious about anything, and Tony Stark with a baby was a situation no-one had _ever_ expected.

"You can NOT be serious, Stark!" Fury bellowed over racket. "You have a commitment to this team and you think you can just swan off to play happy families?!"

There was something in the man's anger, in his tone of voice that struck deeply and Tony felt a cold chill of rage. Pepper, who knew him the best saw all expression suddenly leave the inventors face and she automatically reached out to take Evelyn from him.

"_How dare you_!" Tony was not a tall man by any means, but by any God there was he had presence. Presence, charisma, and complete and utter self-assurance. "How _dare_ you even _think_ of saying such things?! I'm not talking about going off on a pleasure cruise or something – I'm talking about raising my child! And there is nothing, _nothing_ that any of you can do about that! It is my right as a person, as an American citizen, as a _human being_ to have a kid and I can't see why that's so difficult for you to understand!" His acidic gaze swept the room – taking them all in. He was perversely smug to see Bruce cringe and Steve look shame faced. "This is my child, my daughter. I am her father and I'm going to do a damn sight better job of raising her than my Dad did with me. Any of you have a problem with that; just remember exactly who's tower you're all living in, where your funding is coming from and who looks after all your fancy equipment! You don't like it?" He jabbed a thumb at the door. "Then piss off."

Ironman didn't bother with waiting for a reply from any of them and instead turned on his heel, took Evelyn from Pepper and swept out of the room like Severus Snape.

Minus cape.

It wasn't until he reached his lab door that he realised he'd let his feet do the thinking. It was hardly the best place to bring a day old baby and a wry smile crossed his face as he recognised that most of his automatic 'safe places' would have to be re-thought. Bar, lab, a night club…yeah, that'd all have to go.

Evie was staring up at him and Tony wondered what on earth he should do now. Since the lab was out of the question he retraced his steps and made his way back to his bedroom. The baby items that Jarvis had ordered were in the process of being set up around the room – three little robots trundling around as they placed things in considerate and well thought out positions. Tony side-stepped one to reach his bed and sat down heavily.

Then Evie started crying.

And kept going.

And going.

And going.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM

The first three weeks seemed to have whirled past in a blur of sleeplessness, feeding – every three hours, regardless of how tired Tony was – changing nappies, burping, cleaning up sick, panicking over whether she was still breathing every time she fell asleep and so much more that he had never taken into consideration.

It was _exhausting_!

Tony hadn't truly factored in just how much time and space a baby would take up. He had never felt so tired in his life and so damn _helpless_. Evie cried a fair bit – as could be expected – and every time she did he panicked that he couldn't immediately work out what was wrong. It was stressful, demanding and a time-consuming job. He couldn't even wear his favourite shirts since she had a habit of spitting up over him.

And of course there was the never ending job of Avenger-avoiding.

Other than Pepper he had severed all contact from the rest of the group since the meeting, which was probably childish, but he didn't care. Apparently most of the team had tried to make apologetic advances, via Pepper, but he'd ignored the lot of them. To be honest it was less him sulking and more purely not having the _time_ to see anyone.

Pretty much anything not baby-related – mostly meaning Tony getting food or contact with the outside world – was done through the three little house robots that he'd now termed Scutters after the little do-all automatons on his favourite TV show, Red Dwarf. And Pepper of course. Just because she wasn't really a baby person didn't mean that she wouldn't step in for fifteen minutes or so when he needed to dash off for a shower.

But he was getting the hang of it.

Slowly but surely he and Evelyn were learning to work with each other, he anticipating when she needed something and her growing used to the routines set in place to help her stay healthy. It was a slow learning process, but they were getting there.

It was nearly a month before he agreed to see any of the team again – making it very clear that Fury wasn't allowed to the reunion.

It was a lot less tense this time. For a start Evelyn had just been changed and fed so was more than happy to stare blankly at everything as opposed to crying. It was strange to see which of the Avenger's were baby-people and which weren't. Natasha for example immediately asked to hold her and spent a good ten minutes speaking in incomprehensible Russian that the child seemed to be quite taken with. For all that he worked with kids, Bruce was far more reticent and was content to look over the Widow's shoulder. Steve feigned fearlessness, then looked like Evie was primed to explode the moment she was in his arms. And Thor was enthusiastic but had absolutely no idea how to hold her comfortably.

However, it was with Hawkeye that the reactions were the most surprising. Clint seemed a natural. He rescued the baby from Thor's hopeless grip and bounced her gently so that she smiled broadly at him. It was her newest trick, and she'd only been doing it for a few days so Tony felt a quick flash of jealousy that she was so ready to show off to someone other than him. As it was she was readily smiling at Clint as he pulled all the obligatory funny faces and made silly noises.

"You're rather too comfortable there, Hawk." Tony said with a grin. "Beginning to show me up."

"I haven't held a baby in a long time." Clint bounced Evie once more before handing her back to her father.

"You've held a baby?" Even Natasha looked sceptical at that news.

"Eleven year age gap between myself and my little brother." He shrugged when they all stared at him. "What? Aren't heartless assassins allowed backstories?"

Tony let the team bicker over Clint's little revelation as Evie yawned and he wrapped the blanket in his arms tightly around her again. "So." He cut through the discussion going on around him. "How's Fury been recently? You know, after he and I had our little argument."

There was a moment's silence before Steve shrugged awkwardly. "He's still somewhat unhappy with you-"

"Read as majorly pissed off." Clint added.

"Yeah, what he said. We were technically under orders to try and talk you round, but that seemed under handed."

"Not to mention whilst none of us are exactly lovely people, Captain excluded, we could never split up a family purely for team efficiency." Natasha put in coolly.

Oh.

Tony was pleasantly surprised that the team were on his side, and then felt guilty for being surprised. Of course they were on his side – they were supposed to be his friends after all.

"I…Uh…" Why was it always difficult to express simple gratitude? Probably because he was so used to believing that he didn't truly deserve it.

"Don't worry, we know you're not good at the putting-the-words-together-to-make-them-sound-meaningful thing." Clint said with a shit-eating grin. "You love us all dearly and don't know how you survived before we came along. Yeah, we know."

"Something along those lines. Only a whole lot less cheesy and a lot more sarcasm." Tony returned the smirk with one of his own. "But seriously guys, thanks. This means a lot to me."

"We figured. I don't think anyone ever thought they'd hear you say you'd give up Ironman." Steve added.

The comment made Tony look down at the sleeping bundle. "Well, she's worth it."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

The next few months passed surprisingly quickly. October came and went – Tony completely forgot about Halloween – November passed with little incident and it came as a shock when he realised that it was December. He was barely recovering from Thanksgiving with a baby when he discovered that he had to get through Christmas. The lack of drinking had been hard and getting through the festive season – and New Years! – was going to be a pain.

But Christmas meant something else too.

"_I will visit on her birthday and on Yule – or Christmas if you prefer. Is that agreeable with you?"_

He'd see Loki again.

Of course, that was a good thing from the point of view that Evie would have some contact with her mother, but Tony couldn't help but feel that he was glad for more reasons than just that. Reasons that he shouldn't really have.

He was always well known for being exuberant over the idea of Christmas – food, drink, presents, shiny things, it was very _him_ – so no-one really noticed how avidly he was counting down the days. And if they did they just put it down as the First-Christmas-With-Baby syndrome.

Present shopping with a three month old was…an interesting experience. For one thing, the media wouldn't leave him alone. He'd found himself being chased even more than usual by the press, all of them demanding explanations for the sudden addition to the family. Thankfully he'd had years of practice at side-stepping such questions and could control himself enough to ignore any inflammatory comments.

Although he sued the Daily Planet without hesitation when, through frustration at him not telling them anything, they made up a story about his bad parenting. A $30 million lawsuit would teach them that libel is not the way to go about a story. It was also enough of a threat to stop them from starting a smear campaign. Overkill? Not where his daughter was concerned.

Sadly though it did mean that most of his Christmas shopping had to be completed online. Well, the presents that weren't custom-made in his workshop at any rate. It helped to pass the time though.

It seemed to take forever for Christmas eve to creep up, like it was purposely taking its sweet-assed time. It must have seemed like he had a crotch full of itching powder by early evening, what with the way he couldn't sit still. In the end he had sequestered himself to his bedroom with a glass of mulled-wine at only seven o'clock in the evening, feigning a headache so that the rest of the team wouldn't wonder what the hell was sending him to bed so early.

He'd gone all out in Christmasing his bedroom – tinsel, fairy lights, there was even a small tree in the corner. He didn't bother with the main lights, just turning on the twinkling ones. Evie watched the sparkling colours with fascination. It was way past her bed-time, technically, but she'd slept through most of the day and he wanted her to be awake for if or when her mother turned up.

"You like the lights? Maybe I should put some up in your room. What do you think?" He lifted her up closer to the twinkling Christmas lights that ran along the door frame. Evie smiled, trying to grab at them and Tony laughed. "Yeah. Extra present for you tomorrow. Fairy lights. What's your favourite colour? Must be red and gold. Yeah, red and gold fairy lights."

"You may find that she prefers green." The soft voice was accompanied with arms sliding around Tony's waist from behind and a chin coming to rest on his shoulder.

The warm smile that lit Tony's face threatened to split his head in half, it was so wide. "Well, I'm assuming that since it's nowhere near midnight that can't be Santa Claus standing behind me." He quipped lightly.

"Ho ho ho."

He turned, still encircled by the strong arms. "How do you even _know_ about Santa Claus?!"

"I've been about a bit."

Tony leant forwards, his head coming to rest against the God's collar-bone as the hold on him tightened fiercely. "Can't believe I'm saying this; but God, I've missed you." He breathed.

There was a throaty chuckle against him. "Sentiment." Loki pulled back enough to look down at the baby in Tony's arms and his smile turned from smirking to wonderment. "She's grown…" He whispered.

"Yeah, babies do that, who knew?" The man passed her over, watching the expression on Loki's face turn to something akin to worship. He'd observed the trickster scared, angry, loving, pained, defeated, but this intense adoration was possibly the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. "She has your eyes." He added softly, looking back down at their daughter. "But everything else is pure Stark." When there was no reply he glanced back up at the God.

Tears were silently running down Loki's cheeks as her stared down at his daughter, entirely lost in a private world that contained only him and the baby. There was no way that Evie could remember him, but she seemed drawn to the dark haired man, her tiny fingers clutching his thumb like a life-line. "She's so beautiful." His voice was barely a murmur.

"Yeah. She also cries like a champ and could win an Olympic gold in pooping." It had to be said, and Loki did chuckle weakly in response.

"Of course she does, being whiney runs in the family."

"I do hope you're talking about yourself."

The trickster moved over to the bed and sat down, gently bouncing Evie as she smiled happily at him. He ignored Tony's comment, focussing instead on the tiny girl. "Can she hold her head up yet?"

The man sat down next to him, just close enough so that their arms brushed. "If she's lying on her stomach, yeah. Not for very long though." A grin crossed his face. "You should have seen a few days ago; I'd put her down on her stomach, turned away to grab her rattle and when I turned back she'd rolled onto her back all by herself. I think she scared herself stupid, cried for nearly half an hour."

Loki ran his finger down Evie's nose and she made a snuffling noise at him, her face scrunching up before smiling again.

"She's fond of you – she doesn't like many people, and certainly not people she can't remember meeting." Tony said with a grin. "She cries every time Thor holds her now."

Loki snorted softly at that. "Of course she's fond of me." Her lifted the baby up so that they were eye-level and she grabbed a lock of his hair. "Of course you're fond of your Móhðy."

Well what do you know, even psychotic Norse God's put on silly voices when talking to young babies. Tony hid his snigger, then the words registered.

"Wait, Móhðy?" He tried to replicate Loki's pronunciation of the word. M-oh-dy.

"It's a derivative of the Norse term for mother; Móðir. I suppose it is equivalent to mummy."

That should have been hilarious. It should have been priceless blackmail material that left Tony helpless with laughter.

But it wasn't. And it didn't.

This was the mother of his child – of _their_ child – being able to interact with the baby for the first time since she'd been born. Loki had missed Evie's first feed, first night, first smile, first everything. And would continue to miss the developmental milestones throughout the child's life. And the Norse term for mummy only heightened the realisation that Evie would hardly ever use the term, would probably grow up with Loki as a near stranger who visited twice a year.

This wasn't just Loki missing out on seeing his child grow up and being able to form a bond with her, it was that the girl was going to lose out on having a mother around. Sure, Loki was certainly no woman, but he had been the one to give birth, he had been the one to carry her for nine months, to make the devastating decision to give her up so that she could have a secure future.

Neither of them deserved this. Heart-breaking.

It wasn't until a gentle finger reached up to wipe away the wetness on his cheeks that Tony realised there were tears there. He hurriedly scrubbed a hand over his face to rid himself of the rest, trying to pretend that that hadn't just happened.

"There are worse things in life." Loki said softly. "I still get to see her at least."

"Yeah. It's still sad." Tony leant his head against the God's shoulder. He managed a smile as he looked down at Evie who was industrially trying to eat her own big toe, unaware of the conversation between her parents. "There's so much the two of you will miss together."

Loki laughed sadly. "You don't know how lucky I am to even spend two days a year with her. It is more than I have ever had with Fenrir or Jormungandr." He tipped his head to rest on Tony's. "I know when to count my blessings."

The mortal didn't know what to say to that. The fact that Loki thought he was _lucky_ with this arrangement was enough to make Tony think that he had an awful lot in his own life to be thankful for. Thinking of what he knew about the trickster's very long life, it was unsurprising Loki was content with such a meagre lot; he'd had to grow used to everything working out ill for him in the end.

"I've always wondered, how old are you?" Tony asked quietly. The God chuckled.

"Old enough for you to be very much a toy boy."

"Proper answer please."

"You won't like it." Loki glanced sideways at Tony's set expression and sighed. "Fine I was taken from Jotunheim as a newborn at the end of the war between Asgard and the Jotunn. That war removed the Joutunn presence from Midgard, what you all called the ice-age."

Tony's eyes widened. History wasn't his speciality by any stretch of the imagination, especially glacial history but he knew that the last ice-age was stupidly long ago. Weren't Neanderthal's still around then?

"So you're, what? Couple of thousand years old then?"

"A couple of thousand would put me at the end of the Roman era." Loki tickled Evie's tummy and was rewarded with a big smile. "Your father is an idiot, my dear." He glanced mischievously at the man. "

Tony glanced up at the ceiling. "Jarvis, help me out here if you will."

"I believe your guest is roughly five hundred thousand years old, sir."

"_Half a million!?"_ For the longest moment he just sat there, stunned. Sure he knew Loki was old – hello, the _Vikings_ told stories about him – but it hadn't occurred to him that the trickster was quite _that_ old.

Yet…It made sense. His quick mind was still able to work through things even when the rest of him was in shock and it was already making sense of certain things. Say the stories in the myths _did_ actually happen, then given Loki's age they would have happened during the dawn of man-kind; long before any written word had been invented. All the early humans probably knew was that these beings were from another world. Bearing metal, domesticated animals, highly stylized clothing and a complex hierarchical system it was more than possible that the Asgardian's would have been mistaken for deities by the primitive cavemen who were still only using flint-tools. And after the 'Gods' had left their stories would have been passed down by word of mouth through the generations until they became the pagan God's of northern Europe.

However, just because he'd worked it out didn't mean Tony was going to admit to it.

"And there are complaints that people are becoming parents at too old an age."

"Oh I'm not that old, fath-_Odin_ is far older than me."

Tony had a snarky reply at the tip of his tongue, but was stopped when Evie decided that she was fed up with the current situation, as babies do, and began to cry.

"Oh rats, she's probably tired." Tony noted Loki's raised eyebrow at his choice of wording and held his hands up defensively. "Hey, I try not to swear around her!"

"Very admirable." Loki tried to bounce the baby a little, but she just cried harder.

"Uh, want me to..?"

"No, I can deal with a crying child, Tony." The God rose to his feet, the sobbing baby safely ensconced in his arms. "Sleipnir was a nightmare."

"Wasn't he a horse?"

"An eight legged horse who refused to go to bed. He was a nightmare child." There was fondness in the tricksters voice as he spoke.

"Sounds it." Tony felt that familiar and disturbing warm glow somewhere around his arc reactor as he watched Loki pacing, gently rocking their crying baby.

"Do you ever sing to her?"

"Uh, no, not really. Jarvis plays Mozart. Supposed to be good for babies and all that. I can't sing unless I'm in a shower."

"Hmm." Loki turned his back on the man to face the Christmas lights again.

For a moment Tony wasn't sure what the taller man was doing until he heard the soft melody. Not quite singing, not quite whispering. It was a chant, but with a noticeable tune, although unlike any one the man had ever heard before. He vaguely recognised the language as the same ancient Norse Loki had used before.

Closing his eyes he could see images flicker past. Fire and ice, a world of darkness that was so alien from anything he'd ever seen, and yet familiar at the same time. Then the words changed and they were spinning out over towering waves, a longboat prow cutting through the water, shields hanging from its sides. Bearded warriors, icebergs looming, undiscovered lands, thunder in the sky.

"Tony."

He opened his eyes again to see Loki smirking at him. "That was…different."

"_That_ was one of the original Nordic sagas which I don't believe exists anymore, and certainly not the music. I would wager there are historians that would sell their souls for it." Loki tucked the blanket around the now-silent baby. "She's asleep."

"You have _got_ to teach me that." Tony stood up as Loki walked towards him and rested his hands on the God's hips, the baby between them. "See, it's these little things that I wish we could share more often."

"Be thankful for what we have, Stark."

"Hmm." Tony smoothed down Evie's wayward hair, despite how short it was. "Is there any chance she'll have magic?" He asked hopefully.

It was an abrupt topic change but it had obviously been preying on Tony's mind for some time. Loki blinked at him in surprise, then gently cupped his hand around the back of the baby's head, closing his eyes in concentration.

When he opened them again there was a flash of pain there that already told Tony the answer.

"I'm sorry, but no." The trickster said quietly. "She doesn't have any residual magic."

"What, nothing?"

"Nothing. I strongly suspect that her life is indefinite – possibly immortal, but there is no magic backing it up." He ran his finger down Evie's nose –something that was fast becoming a habit. "Her immune system is strong, but the same as yours, and I can't see any Jotunn characteristics."

Tony stared at him. "Did you say _immortal_?!"

"Well, in the assumption that she does not meet an untimely end from an external influence it would appear that she otherwise won't die." Loki said it calmly, almost without thinking – after all, such things were normal to him. However, when he looked up his gaze lit with concern as the inventor staggered backwards away from him, falling back to sit on the bed. "Tony…?"

"Give me a minute." The man leant forwards, his head in his hands. He waved a hand at the door to the nursery. "Her crib's through there if you want to put her to bed."

Loki had the distinct feeling that he'd said something wrong, but decided to give Ironman his space for a few minutes and walked through to the other room.

It was dimly lit by a red night-light in the corner that gave the whole place a cosy glow. The God moved over to the crib – an extravagant affair that Tony had obviously paid top dollar for – but didn't put the baby down.

This was a precious moment that he had yet to have. Just the two of them, mother and child. And a moment where it didn't matter that he let his emotions bubble over and the tears to freely flow.

He had reached the point where he would allow a few tears infront of Tony – emotion was not a thing to be ashamed of, after all – but he still usually refused to truly let go as he now did.

His shoulders began to hitch slightly as the tears intensified, turning into full blown sobs, albeit quiet ones. As much as he'd tried to tell both himself and Tony that they should be grateful for him to at least see Evie twice a year it still _hurt_. She was of his body and blood and he had missed her from the moment that he had had to leave her. His arms had felt empty for every long moment of the three long months and he had no idea how he was meant to get through the next eight months without seeing the child.

"Oh my darling, I wish I could watch you grow." The trickster managed to get the words out around the wracking sobs. "I want to be here for you. I want to see you walk, and laugh, and learn. I want you to be safe." He managed a weak laugh as Evie gurgled in her sleep and fidgeted. "Please understand that I leave you because I want you to be safe. Don't grow up hating me for all of this."

And suddenly there were arms wrapping around his waist from behind. He hadn't even heard Stark entering the room.

"She won't hate you. I'll make sure of it." The man's voice was muffled as he pressed his cheek against the God's back. "She'll grow up knowing exactly who you are and what you've given up for her and she'll love you for it. I promise."

"I don't think that is something you _can_ promise, Tony, but I appreciate it." Loki pressed a gentle kiss to his daughter's forehead then carefully laid her on her back in the crib. Then he turned in Tony's arms and rested his head in the crook of the man's shoulder. Tony could feel the sobs still running through the trickster, although they were ebbing, and he tightened his hold. "Hey, it's going to be okay."

"How exactly?" Loki's voice was stifled by his partner's shoulder but still sounded slightly amused.

"Uh…okay, you got me there, but it's what people say in these sorts of circumstances." Tony pulled back enough to give the taller man a small grin. "I don't usually do comforting."

"Possibly because you have no talent for it."

"Oh shut up. You're clinging pretty tightly for someone who thinks I suck at this." His grin widened as Loki managed a small smile of his own. "Come on, we can go and talk this over if you like."

He gently but firmly towed the God from the room.

"What if she wakes?" Loki asked as the door was gently closed behind them.

He was directed to the baby monitor on Tony's bedside table. "That's a one-way type of radio. She can't hear us, but if she starts crying we can hear her. Wonderful thing." Stark explained.

"So it seems." The trickster sat down heavily on the edge of the bed. He looked up as the man came to sit next to him, looking equally emotionally worn. "My earlier observation upset you, I'm sorry. I didn't expect you to react so badly."

"Yeah. I wasn't expecting to find out that our daughter is immortal." Tony said shakily.

"Why is that a problem?"

"Where do I begin?" He gestured with one hand around the room. "I'd expect her to out-live me. I'm not getting any younger and kids usually outlive their parents. They _should_ outlive their parents. But to find that she'll outlive _everyone_ is a lot." He shrugged hopelessly. "What if she marries? She'll have to see them die whilst never growing old herself. She'll never have a friend that will be with her forever. Hell, she may even outlive her own kids if the immortal thing isn't passed on and I would never wish that on her. No parent should have to outlive their child."

"I…hadn't considered that."

"You wouldn't. Being immortal isn't a new thing for you." He sounded bitter, although he was well aware that it wasn't truly Loki's fault. "But, hey! You're immortal, aren't you? So at least she'll have her _M__ó__h__ð__y._"

"Yes. She will." Loki acceded quietly. "Once I have removed the threat the chitauri pose."

"Yeah, get rid of them first." Tony glanced at him side-long. "How's that going, by the way?"

"Poorly. They seem to be able to trace me no-matter where I am and I have yet to be able to get a fixed lock on them. We are currently playing a very elaborate game of cat and mouse." The thought seemed to amuse the trickster slightly. "It is the first time I have come up against an enemy who has – as you would say it – a jump on me."

Tony had tilted his head to one side, eyes narrowed in a manner that told anyone who knew him that a Thought was forming. "What about being invisible? Surely they can't hunt you if they can't see you?"

"They hunt my magical signature; visibility has nothing to do with it." Loki held up a hand quickly. "And before you ask, that is not something I can hide."

"Huh." The man's face fell as his quickly thought-out plan was immediately thrown out the window. "What about-"

"Whilst I appreciate your wish to help, you truly know very little of the situation. Please don't insult my intelligence by assuming you can possibly think of something I have not already considered."

Tony drew in a sharp breath. "Okay. Ouch. You do know that sometimes it helps to have another person's input, right? Has that superior intellect remembered that it was _me_ who came up with the plan that means you get to see your daughter?"

His angry tone of voice, and complete disregard for Loki's put-down seemed to draw the God up short. Rather than backing off, the human appeared to relish hammering his own point home just as hard.

Loki tilted his head to one side. "Tony Stark, did I ever tell you what attracted me to you?" He derailed the conversation entirely with the simple question and Tony merely looked at him blankly. "I was intrigued by your total disregard for the fact that I could disembowel you with a mere thought. Other mortals reacted to me with fear, anger, violence. But you, _you_ calmly told me that you wished to threaten me then proceeded to have a very sarcastic conversation in which you insulted myself, yourself, and your colleagues."

"And questioned your sexual prowess. Which, might I add, you have now more than proved." Stark put in.

"Quite. But you intrigued me. And people that intrigue me usually end up attracting me. Even on Asgard there weren't many who would dare contradict or talk back to me." Loki smiled wryly. "My reputation for revenge was enough to ward them off. But I haven't been able to warn you away. Even when showing up with your child."

Tony grinned at the summery. "Dear me, is that the dreaded _sentiment_ I'm hearing, Mr Laufeyjarsson?"

Loki appeared to consider the words he'd just spoken, before a curiously soft smile crossed his face. "I believe it is. Who would have thought? Shall we put it down to my having missed you, and still being awash with the hormones left behind by the pregnancy?"

"I…Um…Wow. Yeah. Yeah, pregnancy hormones are a good explanation. Let's stick with that before this goes too deeply into the emotional realms neither of us want to tread." Tony's expression brightened. "Hey! That was quite poetic for me! You must be rubbing off on me-"

The rest of whatever he wished to say was abruptly cut off as Loki's mouth was suddenly on his own, hands grabbing at the front of his shirt to drag him close. The desperation in the gesture took him by surprise, enough so that he allowed the trickster's weight to push him down onto his back.

"Uh…" He managed to break away enough to speak. "Is this such a good idea right now?"

Loki had moved on to pressing kisses along his lovers jaw, and barely raised his head to answer the question. "Why would it not be?"

Tony managed to wriggle a hand up between their bodies so that he could press it against the God's mouth, stopping the trail of kisses. "Because you appear to be emotionally compromised." He winced when he heard his own excuse. "And I'm being responsible. See? This is what father-hood has done to me!" He looked up to meet Loki's over-bright gaze and frowned slightly.

"Stark, has it ever occurred to you that I became emotionally compromised in this situation a long time ago?"

Oh.

_Oh_.

That was more of an admission than Tony had ever expected to hear. Had he even ever wanted to hear it either?

Part of him, a large part, was screaming a resounding _no_ at the whole situation because having a child together was one thing, confessing to emotions beyond being able to tolerate each other was entirely another. But that was admittedly only a part of him – a much smaller and much darker corner of his mind was trying to desperately surface to admit to a similar emotional position.

However, Loki seemed to have already realised that his confession was most certainly _not_ appreciated and shrugged it aside. "As it is, I will leave it at that. _Emotionally compromised._ If either of us say any more on the matter then I fear one of us shall utter words neither of us wish to either hear or say."

"Yeah…Good plan." Tony moved his hand away from Loki's mouth to gently cup the God's cheek. "If it's anything, I think I might be somewhat compromised too. And I shouldn't have said that."

"No. You shouldn't have." Loki rolled off of the inventor to lie beside him on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Life was easier when we were trying to kill each other." He muttered.

"Agreed. Only had to worry about certain death and the glazier bill."

The God glanced at him in annoyance. "You just won't let the incident with your window go, will you?"

"You threw me through it, the memory is somewhat seared into my mind as one of the most terrifying moments of my life."

"Huh." Loki moved his gaze back to the ceiling. After a few moments a small grin crossed his face. "You had a tremendous view on the way down, though."

"Yes. Yes I did. Although I admit I was focussing quite a lot on the ground at the time. It has a very nasty habit of rushing towards you at an extremely terminal velocity if you're falling."

The ceiling was inspected by both men for a few more moments before Tony let out a small snort of laughter. He heard a corresponding chuckle from Loki and began to snigger.

"Oh, I think I'm going insane." He stated airily, running a hand through his hair. That triggered an actual laugh from the trickster next to him.

"_Going_ insane? I believe you passed that threshold a long time ago, Stark."

"You probably have a point." Tony rolled over, propping his head up on one hand, elbow on the bed-covers. "But that's apparently what being a dad does to a person."

"Apparently." Loki was watching him with a small smile still on his lips. Neither of them questioned it when Tony leant over and pressed a kiss to the trickster's mouth, Loki's hand coming up to cup the back of the man's head.

"What are the chances of you getting pregnant again?" The inventor whispered, barely breaking contact.

"Non-existent. Now that I know it could happen I keep a contraceptive enchantment going." Loki smirked and nipped at the man's lower lip. "No consequences this time."

"Just what I wanted to hear."

"Who says you will be the one in control here?"

Tony grinned smugly. "Oh don't even bother, we both know you prefer to bottom. Even a God can have his weaknesses." He raised an eye-brow at the trickster's affronted look. "Don't deny it, oh God of lies. I can see riiiight through you."

"I doubt that, Stark." Loki's breath caught in his throat as the mortal chuckled and moved himself over to sprawl across the God.

"We'll see." Tony leant down as if for another kiss, but instead took the trickster's lower lip between his teeth, biting hard enough to draw a spot of blood. He heard the quick intake of breath the action caused, the hitch in the chest beneath his own. Releasing the abused flesh he traced his tongue along Loki's jawline and up to the God's ear. "You're mine and you know it."

"Mmhm, that seems to be the case." For a moment the quiet agreement was surprising before Loki's mouth curved into a wicked grin. "But you are equally mine, Stark, and there is nothing you can do to change that." With Tony nosing at his ear he was in the perfect position to latch onto the man's throat, sinking his teeth in enough to mark, although he held back from drawing blood.

The mortal huffed with laughter, twisting back to steal a proper kiss. He felt warm hands sneaking up under the back of his shirt, nails running lightly over his skin. It was more difficult for him to return the gesture due to lying full length on top of the God, so instead he began working apart the buttons down the front of Loki's tunic. Thankfully the trickster hadn't worn his full ensemble and was dressed down in a simple tunic and trousers combo that would make removing them a lot simpler than having to wrestle with the buckles and clasps of traditional Aesir gear.

He pulled the first few buttons open and tackled the pale skin that was exposed, nipping and licking to leave red blotches along the smooth collar-bones. The scrape of teeth along skin had Loki chuckling softly, eyes closing as he allowed himself to relax back against the pillows.

"Told you I'd be in control."

"Hmm, just get on with it, Stark, I don't wish to fight you for dominance this time."

"Unusual." Tony finished with the buttons and let his lover's tunic fall open. "…oh."

A long scar curled up along Loki's abdomen, healing but still livid. The inflammation around the edges told of a recently banished infection – possibly explaining why he hadn't been able to use his magic to heal it entirely. It looked like it had been horribly painful.

"Chitauri?"

"A closer brush with them than I would have liked."

Tony nodded in understanding but decided he wouldn't press the point. And it certainly explained why Loki was allowing him to dominate the encounter without a fight – healing or not the wound was probably still too tender to stand up to a wrestling match.

The trickster's breath hitched in his throat as Tony gently kissed along the scar, tongue teasing the reddened skin. Again, the level of trust being shown was astounding. To allow someone else so close to an unhealed wound was a privilege Loki had stopped permitting, even when he had still lived in Asgard. And now this man, this ant beneath his boot, was so close, so dangerously close and he didn't feel in the least bit threatened.

A small gasp was pulled from the God's lips as teeth found and bit into his left nipple, a tongue immediately following to soothe the hurt. After months of being on the run the safety of his current situation heightened the sharp spike of pleasure that shot through him at the touch. He was always the vocal one, and had no problem letting Tony know that he thoroughly approved of what the man was doing.

Eager hands pulled the trickster's tunic away entirely and he arched up to let Tony remove the fabric before tugging the inventors own shirt up over the man's head to throw it God-knows-where. Loki dug his fingers into the man's back, kneading the firm muscles as Tony went back to licking and nipping his way along the curling scar.

It should not have felt as good as it did.

Conceding complete control to the human, Loki allowed his hips to be lifted up enough for the man to slide his trousers and under-garments down his legs. He suppressed a chuckle as he realised Tony hadn't thought the move through – he was still wearing his boots – so rid himself of the footwear with a flick of his wrist meaning that the human could finish divesting him of his clothes.

There was another wound on the God's left thigh, from the same close encounter with the chitauri, but healing better than the scar on his chest. It wrapped almost fully around his leg and a spark of understanding lit inside Tony as he realised what weapon had caused the strange marks: having fought Vanko he recognised the unusual signature of a whip. Of course, the chitauri probably used a power source he'd never heard of, but it still left behind something almost indistinguishable from the arc-reactor powered monstrosity Vanko had used.

"I don't remember seeing them using whips when they attacked us." He murmured against the scar, feeling the tremor that ran through the trickster's leg from the light breath of air.

"They didn't. You fought an army intent to kill. The groups after me want me alive."

"Hmm." Tony nipped his way back up his partner's thigh and along the groove of his pelvis, ending up with a kiss to the trickster's hip-bone. "To be honest, I rather like having you alive."

Loki gasped as the man went in for the kill and his eyes closed at the searing heat suddenly surrounding his growing erection. "To be honest, there are times when it has its perks." The words came out slightly strangled and Tony's responding chuckle sent another jolt of pleasure through him. "Tony…"

It was the first time the man had heard his first name coming from those lips during such intimacy and he decided he very much approved. In a bid to hear it again he took a deep breath, hollowed his cheeks and went _down_. Hell yeah he could control his gag reflex!

The action was well rewarded as Loki arched with a deep groan, a hand coming down to pull at the man's short hair. Tony smirked inwardly and repeated the action, taking as much as he could and using his hand for the rest until his partner bucked up into him urgently. Most people would choke when that happens. Tony isn't most people.

Instead he allowed the movement, relaxing so that Loki could do it again should he wish and kept on going, tongue working along the firm flesh. There was a hard tug on his hair, letting him know that his efforts were very much appreciated and he felt Loki's knee brush the side of his head as the trickster flexed his leg and drew it up, a subconscious gesture that he probably hadn't realised he'd made, but which was all too clearly begging Tony for more.

More that the mortal was more than prepared to give.

Fumbling somewhat, he reached out blindly with one hand to the bedside cabinet and flailed around until his fingers closed around the tube that he was looking for. Experience with this sort of thing meant that he was very capable of popping the cap open one-handed and squeezing a liberal amount of the contents across his fingers.

Continuing to use his mouth, he teasingly circled a single finger around the God's entrance, almost tickling the sensitive skin.

Loki's gasp, followed by a deep groan made Tony realise just how tight his jeans were around his own pulsing erection. He carefully inched his finger in, relishing at the warmth and what it promised for him. Another flick of his tongue coincided with his finger sliding in up to the hilt and Loki let out a sound that Tony only refrained from calling a whimper because Loki most certainly didn't whimper like that.

"Feels…different…" The trickster whispered.

The words almost froze Tony for a second, before his brain registered that _different_ didn't necessarily mean _painful_ and that Loki most certainly didn't sound in pain. The man lifted his head up, although kept his finger gently moving inside his partner's warm body.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"_Valhalla_! No! I said different, not _bad_." Loki's voice was a breathless moan. "Feels good."

Tony frowned slightly. "I'm not doing anything different…"

Oh.

Yes he was.

The realisation struck at the same time that the God elucidated the subject.

"We've never been gentle before…" He whispered. "We've only ever treated this as another form of warfare and taken what we needed from each other." He arched as Tony's questing finger twisted inside him. "Feels good to be gentle, didn't know it felt so good…"

The inventor raised an eyebrow at that – it revealed slightly _too_ much of Loki's previous sex-life for him to be comfortable with. He'd also assumed that since the God had been so receptive and eager for the near-violent sex they'd previously had that Loki preferred things rough.

Obviously even Loki didn't know everything about his preferences.

Okay then. Gentle. Tony could do gentle. Especially with the utterly gorgeous man spread out under him.

He leant back down to lap at the head of the trickster's erection, slipping a second finger in at the same time. It was certainly easier using proper lubrication as opposed to saliva as they always had in the past. Sometimes they hadn't even bothered with that much. Loki definitely seemed to approve of the addition when he moaned loudly, his hips shifting against Tony's hand. The man curled the two fingers together and searched until-

"_Ah_!" Loki's cry surprised both of them – whilst he was usually vocal it was mostly towards the end of their coupling. To be making such sounds in the early stages was unusual for him; Tony was obviously doing something _very_ right.

"Enough...Stark…" The God's fingers untangled from Tony's hair to wrench the man's head up. "I want…_you_…" He used his hold on Tony's chin to pull the inventor up into a deep and messy kiss, seemingly uncaring of his own taste on Tony's tongue. The man mumbled against Loki's lips, something about 'position' and 'can't reach' but the trickster solved the problem by putting his flexibility to good use. Lifting his hips he drew his legs up to his chest so that his knees draped over his partner's shoulders, effectively folding himself in half.

"Take me!" And _there_ was the fire and demand that had characterised all of their encounters so far.

Who was Tony Stark to deny a God?

He lent back for long enough to divest himself of his jeans, before reclaiming Loki's lips. Reaching down he gave his own throbbing erection a couple of firm strokes before guiding himself to his partner's entrance.

Loki groaned, low and deep in the back of his throat as the man slowly pushed in, clawing at Tony's back with his nails. He wasn't entirely prepared enough for the full stretch so the pleasure was accompanied by a slight burn that he revelled in.

"_Uhhhh_…" The sound drawn from the trickster's mouth was so sinful it should have been illegal. His head fell back against the pillow, mouth open and panting hard.

Tony waited until he was fully seated inside the tight heat, then lent forwards to nip at his partner's ear. "You okay?" His voice was shaking as he forced himself to hold still.

"More than. _Move_!"

Tony wasn't one to leave his partner's disappointed.

He pulled out almost fully before driving back, the familiar heat and tightness welcoming him in as Loki bucked up to meet the thrust. The angle meant that Tony was able to penetrate deeply and it was evident that the trickster thoroughly approved of this fact as he let out appreciative moan.

"_Faster_…" He removed one hand from Tony's back to pull the man into a demanding and messy kiss.

Instead of complying the man paused, earning himself a frustrated growl and an impatient scratch along his shoulders. Tony grinned at the noise before grabbing both of the God's wrists and pinning them to the bed on either side of Loki's head.

"Hey-"

The trickster's protest was cut off by another hard thrust and he decided that complaining wasn't really all that important in the current circumstances. Tony felt the soft huff of laughter from his partner and took it as permission to keep going.

Laughter quickly turned to gasps and moans as the man set a fast rhythm, nipping and licking at Loki's neck, jawline and ears. The licentious sounds of their coupling filled the bedroom; skin on skin, gasping cries of pleasure, harsh grunts and a constant litany of pleas falling from Loki's silver tongue.

"Stark…More…Please…so _close_…"

The fractured sentences didn't make sense, but the urgency in them spurred Tony on as he drove into the willing body hard and fast. He could feel the heat coiling in the pit of his stomach, warning him that he wouldn't last much longer.

It was just as he made this observation that Loki suddenly arched up into him with a wild cry, chanting Tony's name breathlessly as his orgasm ripped through him. It entirely took the mortal by surprise and any control he was holding onto was shattered by the rippling waves that surrounded his erection. He released Loki's wrists and collapsed to his forearms, hips taking on a life of their own until he was hurtling into his own release, biting into the tricksters shoulder to muffle his deep groan.

Loki clung to the man with all four limbs, relishing in the after-shocks of his own high as Tony shuddered and shook above him. It had certainly been far too long since they'd been together.

After a few moments the inventor stopped holding his weight up and collapsed onto his lover's chest, burrowing his head into the crook of Loki's neck. In response the trickster managed to untangle his legs from around the man's shoulders and let them flop down to the mattress.

"_Tony_…" His breathless whisper was only just heard over Stark's heavy breathing.

"Mmm. Nice hearing you say m'name like that…" Tony murmured. "Should out-law your after-sex voice…Too sexy." After a few moments he found the energy to raise his head a little. "You were right. Gentle's nice."

Loki let out a soft laugh in agreement. "Very nice." He slung an arm lazily over the mortal's back as Tony's head dropped back down to use his chest as a cushion.

For the longest moment all was peaceful as pulses wound down and breathing slowed to a more regular pace. Ironman had closed his eyes, his mind wandering close to the land of dreams whilst Loki absentmindedly ran fingers through his short hair.

Then the baby monitor lit up.

Tony cracked an eye open to glare at it as the sound of Evie crying filled the room.

"I guess we should be grateful that she saved it for _after_ we finished." He muttered.

"If you remove yourself from pinning me down I'll see what's wrong."

The man sighed theatrically, but rolled to one side so that Loki was able to sit up. As the God tried to hunt down his discarded clothing, Tony glanced at the alarm clock on the bed-side table.

12:34

"Hey." He reached out and snagged Loki's arm as the trickster moved past him and pulled the tall man down into another kiss, albeit a quick one. He pulled away to be met with a confused look and grinned lazily. "Merry Christmas."

Loki blinked at him, then smiled back warmly. "Merry Christmas, Tony."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

**Again, I can't thank you all enough for all the faves, follows and marvellous reviews – it really makes my day!**

**Any questions anyone has I'll be happy to answer – I don't have a beta-reader so if you think I've missed something or it doesn't make sense please feel free to say so! In some cases it may just be that I haven't got round to extrapolating on the subject yet. For example: There's quite a bit about what's happening between Loki and the Chitauri but it won't be mentioned until the next chapter. Ditto with loki's physiology and exactly **_**how**_** he can have kids. (Yeah, I've put a lot of thought into his anatomy – I have too much time on my hands).**

**So until next time; love hugs and cookies to you all. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Again, you guys are beyond words! I've never had such amazing reactions to a story before: thank you all so much!**

**Special thanks goes to Myridinn for the fabulous reviews. **

**And finally; this chapter is nothing as I planned. It rather took off on it's own, although the main plot is still okay. Don't you all love it when a story gains sentience?**

**Love to you all and hope you enjoy!**

Christmas passed by far too quickly for Tony's liking.

Loki left early in the morning, some when around five o'clock. They had spent the rest of the night talking – Evie lying on the bed between them and obstinately refusing to go to sleep. She had been completely entranced by the dark-haired God, which Tony considered as unfair since Loki had conjured up small strings of stars that floated around her head and changed colour. Definitely cheating.

However it had helped to keep her amused whilst the two of them discussed more serious thing; namely the chitauri.

Whilst they were doggedly following Loki's magical signature, he was managing to stay a step ahead by never remaining in one place for more than twenty four hours. The encounter where he'd been injured turned out to have been due to a large mis-calculation on Loki's part. He'd been attempting to meditate and recuperate the energy lost through the constant teleportation and – simple as – lost track of how long he'd been there. It took two days for the chitauri to pin-point his location (middle of the Siberian desert) and to launch an attack that was enough of a surprise for them to land the two blows on the God before he could gather himself and vanish.

"Why not fight and kill them? More your style." Tony had wanted to know.

And the answer had been simple enough. Kill a few and more would just keep on coming. How long could one person – God or not – fight off an unending hoard? So Loki had gritted his teeth and rather than standing his ground as every molecule of his existence demanded he had fought his nature and fled.

He hadn't made the same mistake twice and made sure to change location each day.

"That sounds exhausting…" Tony noted after a while.

And it was a relief for the trickster to admit that _yes_ it was. He was tired to the bone of running the whole time and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. It made no difference if he was on Earth, or shot off to the other side of the multiverse, they would still hunt him down anyway. So he stuck to the small blue planet purely for the sense of familiarity it lent.

The planet he once would have ruled now had become something of a sanctuary.

Oh the irony.

When the time came for Loki to leave they didn't make a big deal out of it. Evelyn was sleeping again, so didn't really notice the gentle kiss pressed to her forehead or tear that accidently splashed onto her cheek.

It was harder for the two men to work out what to say to each other this time round. Sentiment had been expressed, tears had been openly shed and emotions laid bare. It was almost awkward.

"I…It appears that the giving of gifts is expected during this celebration of the birth of Christ." Loki said softly. "I wasn't entirely sure what was appropriate in this day and age – I am still somewhat behind on the times." He waved a hand in the air – a somewhat complicated gesture – and two wrapped boxes appeared in said hand.

"The general Earth saying is that 'it's the thought that counts'." More than in this case – Tony hadn't even thought the God would care about the traditions surrounding the Christian celebration. He was, putting it frankly, stunned. "Uh. I did get something for you too. Not sure if pagans gave gifts at Yule in the old days, but I thought, hey! Everyone likes presents, right?" Without waiting for a response he turned away and pulled a small package out of the bedside cupboard. It was shoddily covered in red paper showing dinky robins and looked very childish next to the two immaculately wrapped boxes that Loki held – one in silver paper and the other in gold. Both had a neat runic inscription on the lid denoting whose was whose.

They didn't open them then and there – making the informed decision that it would save on sentiment and prolong the farewell too much. Rather, they kissed, shared a few whispered words and Loki finally vanished.

When Tony later opened the presents with Evie he had to smile. The baby's box contained five long strings of the magical stars that the trickster had conjured, able to be pinned up or held in the hand. He strongly suspected that they would turn out to be rather long lasting.

His own present made him laugh though: A book.

A _magic_ book. Well, a book _on_ magic, but in his mind 'magic book' sounded better. He had a feeling that it was actually written in a different language – his eyes felt like they were trying to see both pictures of an optical illusion at once – but he was processing it in English. Whilst the man had no preconceptions that he would ever be able to _do_ any magic – Loki had made it fairly clear to him in past conversations – it was going to be fascinating to read up on a subject he knew nothing about.

And meanwhile – somewhere in a small hotel room in Nairobi – Loki's musical laughter was heard as he opened up his own gift to find a patented StarkPlayer. A small note alongside the device informed him that it contained examples of music from every single era and genre Tony could think of. Evidently the human believed that Loki needed to update his knowledge in certain areas. A bit of a joke, but with underlying thoughtfulness. Very Stark.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM

Time moved on, as it is wont to do so and Evie grew. By her ninth month she was beginning to crawl and getting under everyone's feet. Switching between moving on all fours and shuffling around on her bottom she could move deceptively quickly. It wasn't long before the baby discovered the art of pulling herself up to her feet using any and everything in reach to do so – including peoples legs.

The group as a whole had initially protested against this – if nothing else worried at the responsibility this caused. However, none of them were immune to a tiny chubby fist grabbing their trouser leg and a little chortle of laughter once the child was upright. It soon became commonplace to see one of Earths Mightiest Heroes frozen in place by fear whilst being used as a support.

And the developmental milestone gave Tony a plan.

Evie had been calling him 'Dada' since she was six months old – he'd cried his heart out the first time he heard it – and that combined with her nearing walking had given him an idea that seemed both ambitious and phenomenal at the same time.

He had a large selection of photographs of Loki, mostly CCTV, taken back during the chitauri invasion. Whittling them down to a few choice pictures where the God wasn't looking psychotic Tony began showing them to Evie on a twice daily basis, introducing the trickster as Móhðy.

It was a moment of pure joy when the baby began repeating the word, albeit badly pronounced to begin with.

And before they knew it, September was coming around again, and Tony couldn't believe that it had been a year since Loki had appeared in his room and changed his life forever. A year of being a father and he'd somehow _miraculously_ not horribly screwed it up yet.

Yet. He didn't hold out hope for making it entirely unscathed through his daughter's growth.

With Evelyn's first birthday came the warm knowledge that they would see Loki once more. It had been eight very long months, in which Tony had made Jarvis keep a video record of practically every moment of the baby's life so that Loki could watch all of her achievements. The resulting montage was almost an hour long.

So it was with bated breath that Tony retired early the night before Evie's birthday, waiting impatiently for the trickster to show up.

The baby had made it very clear that she wanted to sit on his bed, so was happily perched on the duvet playing with the rattle (it was near impossible to separate her from the small toy). Tony sat beside her with his tablet, working through some complex formulae that were so far from normal mathematics that he didn't even _think_ about using numbers at this point. Instead a long stream of Greek letters and esoteric symbols (Tony had made up some of his own after realising that he couldn't express what he needed to with those available) ran along the tablet's screen, unintelligible to any but their creator.

The room was essentially silent except for the tinkling bells of Evie's rattle, so the quiet cough from the corner of the room was easily heard.

Tony's head shot up, a wide grin blossoming across his face.

"You took your time!"

The God raised an eyebrow in amusement. He was wearing human clothes for once; an Aran-knit jumper and – of all things – faded denim jeans. Tony wanted to make a stupid remark, but the look on Loki's face as Evie sat up to see who it was drove all such thoughts from him. The baby stared at the new-comer for a few moments before she finally seemed to recognise him as the same person from all the photographs Tony had been coaching her with and reached out her arms.

The simple action seemed to stun the trickster, his eyes widening almost impossibly. Tony took the opportunity to pick Evie up – her attention still firmly on her Móðir – and set her on the floor by the bed so that she had to grab hold of the edge of the mattress to stay upright. It was very easy to read the emotions that flashed across the baby's face: she was here, the interesting person she wanted to explore was over there, ergo she had to get herself from here to there.

Tony held his breath as he watched the child try to work out what to do. She was just about old enough to have the beginnings of problem-solving and it looked like she was reaching the only conclusion. With a determined little pout that was very reminiscent of the infamous Stark-concentration-face Evie released her hold on the mattress and took a few wobbly steps forwards to Loki.

The trickster fell to his knees, eyes over-bright with the suspicion of tears and arms open so that when the baby inevitably fell over he caught her. She stared up at him, green eyes meeting identical green eyes – their only shared feature – then giggled in delight and tried to grab his hair.

"Móhðy!"

And Loki broke.

He curled over, hugging his daughter to his chest as she gurgled happily and pulled at the knitted sweater he wore.

"Hey, it's okay."

There was a gentle hand on his shoulder, Tony sounding both concerned and understanding.

"Were they…?"

"Her first steps, yeah." The man knelt down so that he could wrap an arm around Loki's shaking shoulders. "I wasn't sure if she would or not, but it was worth a try. She's been standing for weeks now so it was only a matter of time. I really wanted you to be here to see her walk the first time." He was aware that he was babbling, but seeing a deity break down was always a nerve-wracking moment and when he was worried he always talked more than was good for him.

"Thank you…" Loki raised his head enough for Tony to see the tears and the small smile that contrasted them.

"Móhðy." Evie drew both men's attention back to her with her impatient little voice and a hard tug on Loki's hair. She smiled again when Loki gently tapped her on the nose.

"The first time I hear you speak and you're already so demanding." His amused admonishment was betrayed by the crack in his voice and the tears that refused to stop. "Look at you, already so big. I bet you cause all sorts of trouble."

"As befits the daughter of the God of mischief." Tony fondly ruffled the baby's hair and she giggled in delight.

"She looks like you." Loki traced his finger along his daughter's jawline, studying her features intently. She seemed to revel in the attention and tried to mirror the action, resting her chubby hand on his cheek.

"Your eyes."

Said eyes crinkled in a smile. "Indeed." The trickster rested his fingers against Evie's tiny hand. "Does she speak much else yet?"

Tony grinned proudly. "She can nearly say daddy now, and yes and no. To be honest I've spent most of my time getting her to say Móhðy for you. Took forever to find photos of you where you didn't look psychotic or evil."

That caused Loki's small smile to widen slightly. "I appreciate the effort." His expression turned serious again as the human chuckled. "I do mean it, Tony. I can't express my gratitude enough for all that you are doing to allow me to be a part of her life."

The raw emotion hurt. For someone to be so grateful just because they were allowed to see their own child was more than Tony wanted to think about.

"Don't. You don't have to express any gratitude, she's your daughter; you have a right to see her and to be with her."

Loki ran his spare hand over his face with a tired sigh, wiping away the tear tracks. "If only that were the case. Maybe one day but not yet."

"Still no break-through with the chitauri?"

The trickster glanced at Tony with a resigned smile. "Don't you think I would have been here and told you?" He asked gently. "They're still chasing and I'm still running."

"Have you had to fight them again?"

There was actually an expression of genuine embarrassment on Loki's face for a brief moment before he composed himself. "There was a brief encounter after I let my guard down. You may have heard about a volcanic eruption in Iceland…?"

"Not a volcano?"

"Not entirely, no. The eruption did occur, but may have had some help in starting."

Tony ran his gaze over the God, taking in the gaunt features and tired eyes. "How much damage did you take?"

Loki turned his attention back to Evie, conjuring up a kaleidoscope of butterflies that resulted in the baby squealing happily and trying to reach for them. "A little. Not as much as when I last saw you." At the inventor's stern glare he sighed and rolled up the edge of his jumper enough to reveal the gash that ran along his hip-bone.

"Why can't you heal what they do to you?"

An arched eyebrow, as if the answer to the question were obvious. "The chitauri are from another universe, their technology and methods are vastly different from those in this universe and are incompatible with my own magic." At Tony's frown the God rolled his eyes and tried to elaborate. "Envision my magic and the chitauri power-sources as sound waves. My sorcery oscillates at the same frequency as the universe which I am from; I am in harmony with it and therefore can twist and weave it about myself in the form of spells. The chitauri oscillate at a different frequency, a _higher_ frequency. Now imagine those two sound waves meeting."

Tony bit his lip, nose scrunching up in consternation. As a physicist it wasn't difficult to see the problem Loki was having. If a high frequency sound wave met one of a lower frequency it would destroy it, cancelling out both itself and the lower wave. Loki's magic was being cancelled out by whatever power source the chitauri used, meaning that he was probably ineffectual against them in battle as well as unable to remove himself of the wounds left by said power source.

"If you can get me something that demonstrates their technology I could work on that for you?" He offered quietly.

Loki merely grinned knowingly. "No, you wouldn't. You would start off with the best of intentions and end up accidently creating a super-weapon, or time portal, or some other ridiculous notion which would inevitably blow up your laboratory."

"Uh. Yeah, okay, I'll grant you that."

"…Tauri?"

The two men looked back down at Evie who had a frown of concentration on her face.

"Is she trying to say-?"

"Yeah, let's not name them around her if we can help it." Tony said grimly.

Loki gently tipped their daughters chin up to make eye contact with her. "I won't let them get to you, Evelyn." He promised softly. "I swear to you that they will never harm you, my little bird, no matter what."

Evie was far too young to understand what was being said, but seemed to realise that the black-haired person who held her so tightly was someone she should return the affection to. Her arms were too short to reach around Loki's neck, but she tried anyway.

"Móhðy."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMMWMWMW

They filled the next few hours with Loki and Evie playing until the child fell asleep in his arms, her head on his shoulder. The trickster put her to bed, then he and Tony spent the rest of the night together in the inventor's bed.

Over the next few years this developed into a pattern.

And Evelyn grew.

By the time of her fourth birthday she was able to anticipate her mother's arrival and hold a decent conversation with him, much to his evident delight. She continued to take after Tony in the looks department, but it was slowly becoming apparent that she had inherited her cognitive powers from both parents. Loki's keen intelligence and phenomenal memory for facts had been combined with Tony's unique way of knowing how the world worked just by looking at it and his skill with looking at problems in a completely different way to everyone else. All in all she was becoming an incredibly precocious child prone to tantrums and sulks when she couldn't understand what was going on around her.

Much like Tony imagined Loki had been as a child.

It hardly mattered, all of the Avenger's still doted on her.

Initially Tony had intended to have his daughter go to a regular school and have a normal education. However, that ideal was ruined after it was made pretty damn clear that – restraining orders be damned – the press were just never going to leave Ironman's daughter alone. It also became apparent very quickly that if the press wanted her for interviews about living with the Avengers then it wasn't worth contemplating what would happen if an enemy got their hands on her. In the end Tony played the ever paranoid father and decided to have her home-schooled; a job that was left to Jarvis. The AI seemed to be thrilled – as much as a robotic personality could be – and downloaded every curriculum he could find from across the world and compiled them all to create what he deemed to be the perfect set of lesson plans.

Evie did still get out and about though. Dancing lessons (Steve's idea), horse riding (Loki's insistence) and gymnastics (Natasha's input) all kept her busy, although it was pretty obvious that she had no talent what-so-ever for any of the graceful arts. She got along well with horses though.

And Loki kept his promise and was always there every evening before her birthday and Christmas to count the occasions in with her. The presents he brought were generally non-magic based, since neither he nor Tony wanted to invite any unwanted attention, but were still always much appreciated by his daughter.

For her sixth birthday the three of them were sitting on Tony's bed watching the large-screen TV at the foot of his bed. Evie had chosen to watch Aladdin, and was completely absorbed with the antics of the monkey and flying carpet.

"That three-wish deal could be so easily exploited; Aladdin does _not_ make the most of it." Loki muttered quietly. Tony nudged him with his shoulder.

"Hush, you, remember the rules about not spoiling Disney movies?"

"I am merely opposed to stupidity in films."

Evie, sitting on the trickster's lap, tilted her head up to look at him. "I think he's silly for having a monkey. They have fleas."

"According to that prince character, so does Aladdin, so I don't think it matters, dear." Loki absentmindedly ran his fingers through the girl's hair as she nodded happily and turned back to the film. A few minutes later she looked back up again.

"Móhðy, are you blue like the Genie?"

Tony held his breath at the innocent little question. He never really brought Loki's heritage up around the God, not knowing how Loki felt about it. However, Evie was a voracious reader and Thor had bought her a children's book of Norse myths. She'd obviously picked up on the whole Frost Giant thing.

As it was, Loki merely laughed. "Yes, I am. Although I must say I am much better looking than the Genie."

Tony looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "I thought you hated the Jötnar…" He said quietly.

"I detest that the fact I am one of them was hidden from me and I still feel uncomfortable identifying as one." Loki was still playing with his daughter's hair and refused to meet the inventor's gaze. "However, I cannot help what I am. I managed to overcome my self-image problems with my hermaphroditic nature as a youth, I can overcome the same problems my species has caused me."

It had never occurred to Tony that the God would have had an identity crisis over his gender. However, it did make sense; the confusion of being neither one sex nor the other could be enough to drive the mind mad without proper support. Maybe that explained yet another of the little pieces of the puzzle that was Loki: in the basest technical sense he was neither male nor female and it must have been a hard decision as a youth to decide which gender – if any – he identified with most and would therefore take on as his 'true' sex. Tony suspected that the trickster might have even been pressurized into making the choice.

It seemed that that experience had helped him with his Jötunn heritage, though, which was an unexpected silver-lining.

Evie had now turned around in Loki's lap, forgetting the film entirely and staring up at him with a hopeful smile. "Can I see? Please, Móhðy, _please_."

The God glanced at Tony and grinned. "Are you sure, Evie? I may give you nightmares." He teased gently.

The child folded her arms with an obstinate pout. "I'd not have nightmares about my Móhðy!"

Tony glanced between his child as his lover warily; he'd been under the distinct impression that frost giants were cold enough to give the unprepared frost-bite. However, he trusted Loki to have thought it through.

Evie's eyes widened to the size of saucers as her mother's skin flushed from its usual pale to a rich blue.

"Cooooool!"

"Literally." Tony couldn't help adding that; it came with the scientist territory. But the girl had summed it up pretty accurately to his mind. Loki looked stunning.

Blue, Tony had been expecting – he knew that much at least. What he hadn't considered were the marks etched across the Jötunn's skin, raised lines and whorls that danced over his brow and cheeks almost like tattoos. And the eyes.

Glowing red eyes.

It should have been terrifying rather than quite possibly the most incredible thing he'd ever seen. He had never truly considered just how far apart he and the trickster were. That not only was the God, well, a _God_ and eons older than Tony could possibly imagine, but he was also from another world further away than man-kind could ever dream of reaching. In short, it had only just occurred to Tony that there was an alien sitting on his duvet.

As he was still trying to register all of this Evie was reacting like a typical six year old and immediately poked her mother's cheek.

"You aren't cold. I thought frost giants were cold." She looked thoroughly disgruntled that she hadn't had her hand frozen off.

Loki laughed and gathered the girl's hands up in his own blue ones. "I _am_ cold, little bird, but I've put up an enchantment to protect you from it. Your father would kill me if he had to take you to the hospital for frost bite."

"You bet your blue butt I would!" The inventor managed to change 'arse' to 'butt' just before he said it. He raised his own hand and laid it on Loki's arm. The blue skin felt perfectly normal – not taking the raised markings into account – and was at the same temperature as a normal human. He stared at it in fascination for a few moments, then pinched.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, sorry, just wanted to see if the elasticity was the same…" Tony was too distracted to sound particularly apologetic. "Can I take a blood sample?"

"Not now." Loki glanced up at the TV that Jarvis had thoughtfully paused. "Don't you wish to get back to your film, Evie?"

And as simple as that the child was distracted, turning back to the movie and calling for Jarvis to continue playing it. With Evie not paying any more attention to them Loki returned to his usual skin-tone and Tony leant over to him.

"I'm making you go back to blue the moment she's asleep." His whisper promised everything carnal, and the tricksters eyes gleamed in response. Loki turned his head a little to capture the inventor's mouth in a quick, mostly-chaste kiss, Tony's hand cupping the back of his head.

"You two are gross!"

They broke apart laughing, Evie's indignant expression keeping the mirth going.

Loki couldn't remember ever being so happy.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Of course, the happy little family bubble could only last for the night and he left early the next morning, after saying a fond farewell to Tony and his daughter – promising to be back come Christmas.

A weeks days later he was harshly brought back to reality.

He'd found an abandoned cabin some years previously in one of the more remote parts of Alaska and after making it a little more weather-tight, he returned to it perhaps two or three times a year.

It wasn't exactly cosy, but it had a bed, blankets and pillow and whilst chilly it was nothing a small fire couldn't help with. The trickster spent a few hours with his notebook, jotting down the ideas that were sluicing through his brain. As much as he tried to persuade both himself and Tony that his magic was entirely ineffectual against the chitauri it didn't mean he would ever stop trying to work at it. So far he had filled up countless books of notes and scribbles of every and anything he could think of that could help.

Initially he had wondered if Mjölnir was the key – after all, it had proved effective in the battle of New York. However, he scrapped the idea after only a few notes when realising that the hammer's innate magic hadn't been its key virtue in the war, but more that it was a _dirty great hammer_.

This time he was looking into the physics behind black holes and whether or not it would be possible for him to utilize a similar method of matter-absorption to combat his ineffectualness against the other-worlders. However, the research was showing quite plainly that once again he was hitting a dead-end and – short of sucking the chitauri home-world into a black hole – the ability to put a singularity to use was beyond his power.

It was infuriating!

He threw the notebook to one side with a frustrated snarl, a small part of his mind fixed on its destination so that it neatly vanished into the hidden-pocket that he used to store his valuables. It was difficult to tell what time it was by looking out of the window – so close to the northern hemisphere and in the winter it was permanently dark. However, the God knew that he still had over twelve hours before he needed to start worrying about the chitauri finding his Alaskan retreat, so curled up on the bed determining to get some sleep.

It had barely been four hours before he jerked suddenly awake, eyes wide as he stared around the bare room.

There was nothing untoward to be seen. A fire crackled in the grate – not something that would have woken him – and frost had covered the window. There was a complete lack of the danger that was humming through him. His magic was ringing like an air-raid siren, warning that all was not as well as it seemed and he half sat up, eyes narrowing as he tried to find what was causing the feeling of encroaching jeopardy.

The semi-raised position was all that saved him as a sudden explosion above him brought half of the roof down into the room.

The God of mischief wasn't one to be put out by such a thing as he gracefully rolled to one side, avoiding the timber beams and scanning the area to find out who and what was the cause. Most of the wall had come down along with the roof, leaving the small cabin open and exposed to the elements.

To his horror his gaze fell on the ten chitauri scouts, oblivious to the falling snow, that stood in a ring around the tiny lodge. How in Valhalla's name had they found him so quickly?! He should have at least had another six hours or so before they could successfully track him!

There was another explosion – were they using _grenades_? – that threw him from his feet and brought the sad remainder of the cabin to the ground. He hit the ice hard and rolled with the impact so that he didn't lose any momentum. It was second nature for Loki to raise his hands and try to shoot a retaliation blast of energy back at his attackers but he knew from experience now that it would be about as effective as throwing cotton wool at them. Instead he ducked as a whip tail snaked out at him and materialized his throwing knives.

One found it's mark in a chitauri soldier's throat and the creature fell, a wheezy shriek leaving it in the process. Two other were less deadly and bounced off thick armour, re-materializing in their owner's hands.

What were his options here?

Well, run, obviously.

He summoned his teleportation spell to his mind, a fail-safe so old and so trusted that it came as easy as breathing. Then…

Nothing.

No blur of vanishing landscape, no feeling of speed. He stayed exactly where he was, the magic dispersing hopelessly.

No. Nonononono! How was this even _possible_?

The trickster dove to one side, narrowly avoiding the spear aimed at his mid-section as one of the soldiers lunged forwards with the weapon. He desperately wove the spell again, only to find once more that whilst the enchantment worked perfectly in its execution, there was something, almost like a physical barrier that blocked the teleportation itself.

_Shit_!

He spun on one foot, sending up a spray of snow as he did so, and threw another three knives. Magic may be failing him, but it seemed that blunt force was still a viable option. The weapons didn't kill this time, but one chitauri dropped to it's knees, a blade sticking out of it's shoulder.

And the whole time his gaze was darting around, searching each and every one of the eight remaining soldiers to find an answer for his loss of teleportation. For the reason behind the invisible barrier that kept him tethered to the area.

His lack of attention to the moment, however brief, cost the trickster as a whip tail caught his ankle, throwing him to the floor.

By the Tree but it _hurt_! He had yet to work out what the hell the damn things were made of or powered with, but it seared through his trousers to burn into his flesh. With some effort he succeeded in kicking his leg free and tried to scramble to his feet, wounded ankle buckling under his weight.

"We have you now, Godling." The crow of victory sent a vicious stab of fury through the trickster.

Right. Magic useless, running not an option, weaponry not making enough of an impact, injured and likely to take on more hits.

Fine, he'd had worse odds.

Trying to stand steady on his weak ankle, Loki materialised his staff into his hands just in time to deflect a blow from a chitauri with the same form of weapon. He swung it low and was satisfied to feel it connect solidly with his opponent's leg, snapping the exoskeleton and bringing the monster to one knee. His phenomenal speed was still an advantage then, it seemed.

And then, as he kicked the wounded other-worlder out of his way and readied for the next attack, a suspicious lack of movement caught his attention.

On the edge of what was quickly becoming a battle ground was a lone chitauri that didn't seem to be doing anything more than just standing there and observing. Loki knew the species well enough to recognise that they would never send in any less than a warrior so the lack of action caused the spark of suspicion. _What was it doing there_?

The trickster was a whirl of movement as the remaining soldiers continued their onslaught – seven, he was at least down to seven of them. Not too bad: seven to one, technically feasible. He danced through his opponents, ducking blows, matching spear thrusts with his own glave and dodging the snaking tails of the two whips that were being employed. He took a blow to the shoulder that felt like it burnt down to the bone, sending agony shooting down his whole arm. Still not a problem, he could fight one-handed, child's-play.

His attention remained focussed on the strange statuesque chitauri on the edge of the skirmish, and when the searching tendrils of his magic tried to discern a purpose they were blocked so harshly as to almost throw him from his feet.

Oh

_Oh_!

The bastards! The fucking clever bastards! The technology that ran through their weaponry, that Loki had found was resistant to his magic, had been built upon to extend out beyond a physical parameter. They had worked out a means of projecting a…well, all Loki's usually quick mind could think of under the circumstances was to visualise it as a barrier under which his magic was blocked to some extent.

Obviously he'd been able to materialize his weapons, so it could only be a prototype, not yet fully capable of blocking the full extent of his powers. How long had they been _planning_ this?! Once again the God was beginning to realise that he had severely underestimated the intelligence and ruthlessness of an enemy.

The shock of the realisation threw him off for just long enough for a whip tail to catch his cheek, not cutting deeply, but enough to warn him to keep his attention up.

So: options. They had strength in numbers, better weapons and a way of with-holding the better part of his magic. He had…A handful of throwing knives, a staff that only served as a blunt weapon and his native wit.

He'd faced worse odds…Okay. Maybe not in so many words. It was pretty bad.

The God managed to throw another soldier away from himself which gave him a few brief moments pause to take stock of the situation. Not good. His ankle was barely holding his weight, his arm was next to useless and there were still five more of the damn things to take down.

But Loki was not known for panicking when confronted with bad odds, and nor was he unable to think himself out of hopeless situations.

Think. Put the pieces together.

Five attacking chitauri, intent on taking him out to drag him back to their home-world in chains, and one that was standing to the side, not even _watching_ what was going and seemingly the centre of whatever anti-magic (and he shuddered at using such a lackadaisical term) barrier was in effect. They obviously had hoped to take him out sooner than this since the one he was now assuming to be in control of the accursed device didn't have any back-up or body guards.

Perfect.

He feinted high, then spun low so that his staff effectively swept two of the chitauri off their feet. The sharp end of the weapon was rammed down into the chest of the nearest, smashing through both armour and exoskeleton to finish the creature off. Without breaking from his momentum the trickster leapt over the fallen body and raced towards the lone chitauri.

Of course, he couldn't expect the others not to realize and try to stop the manoeuvre. Making the most of the split second head start he drew three throwing knives and hurled them at his target. Overkill maybe, but by now he was committed and did not want to have to come up with another plan because of missing his shot.

The God's aim was true, and all three knives struck, sending the oblivious chitauri down in a spray of internal fluid that could never be called blood. Loki landed on top of the body in a crouch, eyes scanning for the device he could still sense blocking the majority of his powers.

_Ah_.

There in the dead alien's hands. If an earthly description had to be used then _pocket watch_ would do. It was the same size and shape, and appeared to have an intricate gear system on the back that Loki itched to explore and didn't dare touch at the same time.

Instead, as the remaining soldiers leapt up behind him he drove the point of his spear through the delicate piece of machinery.

As he did so a chitauri struck from behind him, whip flicking out to curl tightly around the tricksters neck.

Loki was dragged backwards by the suffocating hold, his scream of pain silent as his windpipe was crushed. The implement burnt deeply into his throat so much so that he almost missed the sudden soundless percussion wave that alerted him to the release of his full powers.

The chitauri wielding the weapon hauled on it again, dragging the trickster across the hard ground, causing the whip-tail to tighten like a hangman's noose. He panicked, fingers clawing at his throat and fighting for a breath that just wouldn't come.

Instinct took over. Without conscious thought put into it the teleportation spell wrote itself across his mind again.

This time it worked.

MWMWMWMWMWMMWMWMWM

Tony was once-again playing around with ideas for Clint's arrows. This time he was carefully attaching prototype capsules to an arrow shaft that would possibly one-day contain a form of biological agent. It was a fine art to attach the right amount for the desired effect, whilst still keeping the weapon aerodynamic, balanced and easily storable.

He bent low over the work, laser cutter in hand as he tried to even up a jagged edge where one of the capsules had been soldered to the bottom of the flights.

"Sir, there appears to be an incoming energy source." Jarvis' voice caused the volume of the music playing to drop enough for the AI to be heard and the inventor looked up in mild curiosity.

"Energy source? Can you trace the-"

And all hell broke loose.

Tony was sent reeling back a couple of steps by the force of the concussion wave in the air as the empty test-zone he usually reserved for trying new suit components had something impact it with enough force to cause a crater in the concrete slabs.

The man would have liked to say that his first reaction was to call his suit and sound an alarm. After all, that would be the proper hero protocol and what a sane person would do.

However, sometimes instinct is just too far ingrained and can over-rule taught habits, no matter how essential to life said habits may be. Human evolution is a hard thing to fight and it was because of this that Tony's very _first_ reaction was to peer cautiously over the top of his work bench, laser cutter held like a dagger in one hand – almost subconsciously.

"Jesus Christ!"

Caution was forgotten as he vaulted over the worktop, pulling off the clumsy heat-proof gloves as he did so.

Loki lay in the crater, bloodied and broken, his fingers struggling with the whip that was still curled round his neck, tight enough to garrotte him. His eyes were squeezed closed, desperately trying to force in a breath of air past his crushed windpipe, _anything_ to stave off choking to death. He felt deft hands pushing his own out of the way, examining the damage before finding the loose end of the whip where it had been snapped from the handle as the trickster teleported.

"Easy, hold still, I've got you…"

The voice – _Tony, Tony's voice_ he realised incredulously – was calm, but with a noticeable under-current of tension and fear. Loki felt a sudden easing of the pressure on his throat as the whip tail was carefully and deftly unwound. It had bitten deep into the flesh of his neck so that the last coil was pulled away dripping blood.

Air! Blessed air, _finally_! He half sat-up, desperately struggling for breath and feeling it burn in his damaged windpipe and depleted lungs as he did so. Tony's arm quickly curled around his shoulders, effortlessly supporting him as he coughed and gasped hoarsely, chest heaving.

"Slower, don't fight and try to breathe slower." The inventor's free hand moved to the trickster's chest, pressing firmly against his diaphragm when the God took another rasping breath and then slowly releasing the pressure so that he was effectively controlling Loki's respiration. He repeated the move a further four times, until he could feel the heaving breaths ease from borderline hyperventilation to a steadier rhythm.

"There, see? Much better and I don't have to attempt CPR."

Loki managed a wry smile, although couldn't find it in himself to laugh. "My thanks." They both winced at his voice – broken and hoarse as to be unrecognisable as that of the usually suave trickster. A glass of water appeared in his peripheral vision and he accepted it gratefully, giving a small nod to the automaton that had acted as the delivery boy.

Tony waited until the God had downed the whole glass before asking the obvious question.

"What the hell happened?" His voice was soft, concerned, _fearful_.

"What do you think?" His acerbic reply lost its bite along with its volume. The damage left by the near-strangulation made the trickster sound like he had a severe case of laryngitis.

"How did they find you?"

"I don't know, but they've been busy. They searched me out far quicker than usual and were able to compress the greater part of my powers." Loki shook his head hopelessly. "It's been nearly ten years since I first made contact with them. They haven't been idle in that time – their technology has advanced."

"Tell me the details later." Tony pulled the taller man back against his chest, leaning back against the base of the workbench behind him. Small tremors were running through Loki's body, his breathing still quick and rasping, and pulse still hammering. He was scared, and something that could scare a God was more than worthy of fear.

"Thank you…" The murmur was so quiet Tony almost missed it.

"Huh? For what?"

Loki rested his hand on the arms wrapped tightly around his waist. "For this. I wasn't thinking when I teleported here – I just wanted to get as far away as I could to a place of safety." He rested his head back against the inventor's shoulder with a sigh, fingers reaching up to trace the weeping wound around his neck.

"Hey, don't." Tony brushed the hand away to examine the deep cuts himself. "You said you can't heal what their weapons inflict? In that case these will need stitches."

"I'm fine."

"No you're not." Tony rested his chin on the God's shoulder, closing his eyes as he tightened his hold on the taller man. "You're not fine at all and I nearly lost you."

Loki let out a huffed sigh. "Sentiment." The whispered word had enough emotion to convey his true feelings through it without having to voice them.

"Yeah, let's not get into that discussion again." Tony was beginning to notice that the front of his shirt was feeling damp, that uncomfortable sticky wetness that he accorded to blood seeping through clothing. "Are you hurt elsewhere?"

"You know damn well I am."

Okay, okay, sheesh!" Tony rolled his eyes. "Don't mind me; I only saved you from choking to death and all." Without waiting for a reply he applied a little pressure to the God's back in an effort to make the taller man move. "Now, if you can still stand up I'll see what I can do about fixing some of this." He gave another little push that garnered no reaction. "You _can_ still stand up, right?" He asked, half-jokingly.

No reply.

"…Loki?"

"I…My ankle. I believe it to be broken." The trickster admitted softly – not that he had a choice with the volume of his voice, all things considered.

"You can't fix it?"

"No. Not when it's been inflicted by those accursed weapons." Loki turned his head to glance at the inventor and the movement allowed Tony to see the deep cut running along his cheek.

Ironman didn't reply to that. Instead he extracted himself from behind the God, and looped the taller man's arm around his shoulders. "Come on then."

As he'd noted before, Loki was _heavy_ and Tony wasn't quite tall enough to provide adequate support. However, they managed to make it over to the small camp-bed kept down in the lab for such times as when the inventor couldn't be bothered to go to bed. That was in fact a rare occurrence since fatherhood: he had learned responsibility.

The trickster sank onto the mattress with a grateful sigh that should have been funny, and instead was just worrying with how much pain he evidently was in. He didn't protest when Tony wordlessly helped him out of his shirt and brushed his hair back out of the way. The God heard the pained gasp from his companion once his torso was bared – the damage to his shoulder now visible along with the bloodied wounds that encircled his neck like some piece of macabre jewellery. He looked away, unwilling to see Tony's expression.

"Okay. I'll start with the injuries to your neck. Yeah?"

"That would most likely be the best place to start." Loki was still shivering – no doubt coming down from the adrenaline high the battle and near-death experience had caused. He stilled, however, at the touch of warm calloused hands against his back, rubbing small circles, soothing.

"Will local anaesthetic work on you? Bruce left me some in the med-kit for emergencies and I know how to use it."

"I don't believe so." There was a small amount of sadistic amusement in Loki's voice with his reply. "But you needn't concern yourself about it – I have proven myself more than capable of with-standing stitches without pain relief."

Tony winced. He had never once brought up the tiny, almost-invisible scars that dotted along the edges of his lovers lips, and this was the first time Loki had even faintly alluded to them.

"If you're sure…?"

Loki just glanced at him with an arched eyebrow that declared his amusement and scorn at the question. The ancient pagan God of mischief, capricious in every part of his psyche was not a stranger to pain.

Tony had a very well equipped medical kit in his labs – Bruce had insisted after realising quite what the inventor got up to – namely large explosions. Alongside local anaesthetic there were copious amounts of bandages, sutures and enough paraphernalia to give emergency first aid to most ailments up to and including smashing into a ceiling due to faulty thrusters. The inventor pulled on a pair of latex gloves, broke the seal on a sterilised needle – complete with thread – and gently angled Loki's face to get a better light.

The procedure took nearly half an hour – it was hardly something Tony was going to hurry and the wounds completely encircled the trickster's neck. Working carefully and methodically he sealed the deeper parts of the wounds and reached for the bandages. Once completing wrapping up the newly applied stiches Tony celebrated it by pressing a soft kiss to Loki's tense jaw.

"That's the lot of them. I'm afraid you do look something akin to Frankenstein's monster at the moment."

The trickster opened his eyes again and raised a hand up to press against the bandages, wincing slightly. "My thanks."

"Stop being so formal when you're sitting on my bed half-naked."

That drew a startled laugh from Loki and he looked up at the man with a small smile. "I'll admit that if we were to try anything right now your performance issues quips may be needed. I'm exhausted."

"To be honest I wouldn't _want_ to try anything right now; not with your shoulder looking like that." Tony moved around to sit down next to the God and began examining the limb in question. "This looks different from the whip cuts." And by different he meant that it had sawed through the flesh and muscle until white slivers of bone were showing through. "What caused it?" He kept his tone light as he began to mop up the blood around it.

"Spear." Loki's voice was tight; the stiches had been well under his pain-threshold, but having the mortal poke around in an open wound that went bone-deep was beginning to push it.

The human heard the pain in the single-worded answer, so didn't ask anything more as he carefully finished cleaning the wound. Using the dissolvable stitches that were in the med-kit – and thanking his lucky stars that he knew his way around human musculature – Tony began to close up the gaping damage to the muscles within the injury. He tried to be as quick as was possible without losing focus on the important work under his fingers, silently admiring how Loki managed to remain so still and retain his stoic pride.

Once the inner tears and torn muscle were pulled back together and secured the man moved on to stitching up the skin over the wound to seal it all. Using the roll of gauze to hand he wrapped it around the God's shoulder and used a safety pin to secure it.

"I'm done." He pulled the latex gloves off and cupped Loki's cheeks with hands that were now beginning to shake.

The trickster had his head tipped back against the bed's head-board, eyes closed and pain drawing unforgiving lines down his face. He was breathing harshly – something that sounded all the worse thanks to his throat – his bared torso having acquired a faint sheen of cold sweat. However, the warmth of Tony's hands on his face seemed to rouse him and he opened his eyes to blink groggily at the man.

"That was…less than pleasant." He rasped.

"Sorry."

"No, it was necessary. I've had far worse."

Tony had a sudden recollection of the Hulk creating a Loki-shaped crater in his lounge floor – footage of the event had been acquired via a maliciously gleeful Jarvis. Yes. Loki was more than able to take a beating and then some.

"What's your worst then?"

"You most certainly do _not_ want to know."

Ironman considered what he knew of the ancient Vikings and their brutality _– inspired_ by the Aesir – the fact that Loki was immortal and therefore able to withstand pretty much anything and that he was half a million years old and would have possibly met with most species in the known universe; most of whom probably held grudges.

"Okay, yeah, y'know what? I actually don't want to know." He turned away to fiddle about with the med-kit, pulling out a plaster. "Hold still." The God didn't have much say in the matter when Tony efficiently applied the piece of fabric to the cut running down his cheek. "There we go. Just be glad it isn't one of the Hello Kitty ones I've got for Evie."

Loki raised an eyebrow, although any and all haughtiness was ruined by the plaster. "Our daughter is a fan of that pink little cat?"

"Actually no, I just bought them to annoy her."

The God laughed quietly at that.

"So, shoulder, neck, cheek. That leaves your ankle." Tony turned in the direction of the trickster's legs but was stopped by the hand on his upper arm. "What?"

"It's merely fractured; nothing you can do for now."

"You sure-?"

"I can tell the difference between a fracture and a break, thank you." The God smiled slightly, softening his harsh words.

"Mighty words from a wounded deity." The hold on Tony's arm tightened, drawing the man back towards the trickster.

"Oh just shut up for a moment, Stark."

The man didn't get a chance to reply as he was unsurprisingly pulled into a firm and very demanding kiss. Loki's hands moved up to hold the man's head in place whilst at the same time Tony's fingers tangled in the long black hair. The God tasted of blood and lingering fear but it didn't matter to Tony. He certainly hadn't wanted to admit how worried he'd been; seeing Loki choking to death in his lab. It was still concerning what they now knew about the chitauri.

"Missed you." He hissed into the trickster's mouth. Loki's grip took on a greater degree of desperation, breathing heavily as he moved away enough to reply.

"Thank you for all of this. You are my sanctuary; where you are is the only place I can ever feel safe."

It was the closest either of them ever came to saying the three little words that they never dared give voice. Maybe it was because they were finally aware of just how precarious their situation was but such sentiment was creeping in far more than usually.

"I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe." Tony whispered. "_Whatever it takes._"

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Tony."

The inventor huffed with laughter, resting his forehead against the God's. "I'm still working on various plans. And now that I've got that whip tail I could reverse engineer their power-source. Or at least have a go at it. I'll think of something." He closed his eyes in thought. "If they've enhanced their technology to search you out it's only a matter of time. You can't run forever."

"What would you suggest?" From Loki such a question would usually be sarcastic, but now he just sounded tired and hopeless.

"Tell the others?"

The God backed away in alarm. "No!"

"Loki, be reasonable; if the others know then they can help us beat back the chitauri!"

"No. They would never even listen to me." The God hissed. "They would rather hand me over than _protect_ me! Even my dear _brother_ would relish the chance to know that I will be unable to conduct my mischief anymore."

"Well I would talk to them first without you, of course! Sweeten them up a little. And Evie can back me up!"

"Yes. Up until the point your Director Fury realises that; A) He has leverage over me in the form of my child and, B) He has a half-frost giant in his hands whose physiology would doubtless be fascinating to his pet scientists."

Tony opened his mouth to argue that point.

Then a sleek grey shape invaded his memory; a nuclear missile heading towards Manhattan, with no thought as to the civilians there. He remembered there being no compromise as he flew up to meet it, knowing that the minds behind it couldn't care less if he nor all of the other inhabitants in the vicinity died or not.

"No, Fury wouldn't do that." He held up a hand as Loki tried to interrupt him. "_But_ the council would do it without hesitation. And they've already shown a complete and utter lack of mercy." He rubbed a hand across his eyes. "Damnit, yeah. Okay, we'll leave off telling the others for a while. I'll keep working on beating their tech."

The God nodded slightly in agreement.

"You're so much trouble."

"And yet you keep insisting I come back."

Tony grinned teasingly. "For our daughter's sake entirely, I assure you." A thought suddenly occurred to him and he glanced down at the watch on his wrist. "Hey, you want to see her whilst you're here?"

For a long moment the trickster just stared at him blankly. Of all the things it looked like the chitauri attack may prove to be the best thing that had happened to him in a very long time if it meant he was able to see his daughter for an extra few moments.

"What sort of question is that?! But won't she be in bed?"

Tony's grin had widened as he watched the hope and joy blossom on the God's face. "She's in bed, but we have a deal that she can then read for half an hour before Jarvis turns out the lights, so she'll still be awake." He didn't even wait for his companion's answer and instead turned his attention to the room at large. "Hey Jarv, can you ask Evie to come down here? Tell her it's a surprise."

"Of course, sir."

Loki was still staring at him in faint disbelief.

"What? You didn't think that you could turn up here half dead and then get away without giving your daughter a goodnight kiss, did you?" The man asked lightly.

"I…Tony, I don't deserve you."

"Nope, but somehow you snagged me anyway. Not sure how that happened. Somewhere between throwing me out of a window and giving birth to our child I think."

"And still with the window incident."

"It was our first date, how could I forget it?"

Finally, _finally_ Tony managed to achieve what he'd been trying since Loki had turned up: real and uncontained laughter from the trickster, easing out the deep lines of pain across his brow and chasing away the last vestiges of fear from the unexpected attack earlier.

Considering that for a few very long and very terrifying moments Tony had thought he'd lost the God, that he had been too late to save him, laughter was the best thing he's ever heard.

"Sir, Evelyn is at the door of the lab." Jarvis announced.

"Let her in, Jarv." From where they were sitting they couldn't see the large wall of glass with the double doors, but Tony recognised the sound of them hissing open. Even he wasn't so stupid as to give a six year old access to his labs and workshops.

"Daddy?" Evie rounded the corner, looking expectant and disgruntled at the same time. Her hair was a dandelion-like fluff around her head – probably due to static on the pillow-case – and she was wearing one of Tony's beloved Metallica t-shirts as a nightdress, the hem reaching well below her knees. "Why did Jarvis call me down here-" She froze when she saw the two men on the bed.

Loki gave her a hesitant smile when she just stared at him, before the girl seemed to accept what her eyes were telling her and screamed.

"_Móhðy!_"

She practically flew across the floor of the work-space, throwing herself onto the God so that she barrelled him over on the mattress.

And with his daughter's arms wrapped tightly around his neck and Tony sat beside them laughing cheerfully all of the aches and pains fell away. No worries, no fears and no concerns.

Loki was truly happy.

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	6. Chapter 6

**A week later than I'd intended, and I'm sorry about that. Working in a primary school at Christmas time means suddenly all your evenings are taken up with making props for nativities and said nativity rehearsals. However, it is now out of the way so I am intending to get another chapter out before the big day itself (bearing in mind I'm still working all the way up to next Friday, we break up really late!).**

**In other news: In love you guys. Seriously, I want to marry each and every one of you for all your faves and alerts and the reviews. Oh the reviews! Every single one makes me so happy I can't even describe it! So thank you to all of you, it means a hell of a lot that you like the weird tangle of words my brain can produce and the only thing I can really do to show my appreciation is to continue churning this story out. Love to you all!**

**WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER: More smut. There are mentions of transphobia bullying, self-hate due to a character's own sexuality and a bit of graphic exploration into Loki's anatomy (in a sexual situation). Mostly trigger warnings for transphobia and transgender self-esteem issues. I've done my best to be delicate, since I have a lot of friends who are transgender so I am approaching this with the knowledge of how sensitive this subject can be to people.**

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There were a lot of things that had to be taken into account when raising an extremely precocious and intelligent child. For example; she wanted to know _everything_. Where most children would shout 'it's not _fair_!' as a prelude to a temper tantrum she would shriek 'But I don't _understand_!' and then proceed to have a screaming fit at whoever the receiver of her wrath happened to be. She was also very quick at picking up how things worked and had re-programed the TV to remove anything that she deemed to be 'boring'. Which meant all the sports and news channels had been deleted, much to the other's dismay.

She had also reached the age where she was taking more notice of the world beyond her own home and the people she knew. Tony had not anticipated this to be a problem and was therefore unprepared for her to start asking awkward questions. Well, he'd always expected the _normal_ awkward questions; 'where do babies come from?' being the classic, but hadn't given much thought to other things she may have picked up on from the world around her.

The memorial to the Battle of New York was having a face-lift in time for the tenth anniversary the following year. Evie was aware that there had been something that had happened, a few years before she was born, but this was the first time that she was old enough to both take an interest and understand.

Tony was in his workshop when Jarvis announced that the child was asking to come in and appeared to be somewhat upset. He removed his welding helmet and turned the power off to the tools as his daughter rounded the large benches and machinery to find him.

"Daddy?" It was obvious that she'd been crying – which was unusual for her – and once she spotted her father sitting at the desk she ran over, beginning to snivel again.

"Evelyn! What on earth's happened?! Are you hurt?!" Tony opened his arms so that his daughter could scramble onto his lap, holding her tightly. When there was no reply he tried again, rubbing one hand in soothing circles on her back. "What's wrong, little bird?"

"Is…Is Móhðy a bad-guy?" The child whispered.

"_What_?!"

"The battle. Where everyone died. They were talking about it on the TV and Móhðy was on it wearing weird clothes. He kept…He was _hurting_ people."

Oh.

_Shit_!

Evie was never meant to have seen that footage; not until she was much older and more able to understand the intricacies of what had happened and the reasons behind it. Tony had no idea what to say, he hadn't yet planned ahead for that conversation.

"Is Móhðy bad?" The girl repeated.

"No."

"But he hurt people. He had an army!"

"It was complicated, Evie…" Tony said quietly.

"But I don't _understand_!"

The warning words that preluded a tantrum, and the inventor winced. How the hell was he going to explain the whole 'Kneel before me, dull mortals!' stunt that Loki had pulled nearly ten years ago?! Evie was still sobbing into his chest and he hugged her tightly, rocking her like he'd once done when she was a baby.

What was the best way to explain this…?

"Do you remember that history lesson you had on the first world war?" He asked finally. The girl sniffed and nodded, evidently not seeing where this was going.

"Who were the bad guys?"

"Germany…?"

"Why?"

"Because…" Evie frowned, her sobs trailing off as she tried to think. "Because they killed people?"

Tony shook his head. "We killed people too. Infact we killed more of them than they did of us."

"So…_We_ were the bad guys?"

"No again."

Evie glared up at him tearfully. "I don't get it!"

Tony smiled slightly at the petulant tone. "Very often in wars there are no good guys and no bad guys. Both sides do horrible things and both sides have heroes."

"So why do they fight?"

"Because they both believe different things and are too silly to talk to each other about it." Possibly an overly simplistic way of explaining the most complex part of humanities failings. "So they fight instead and people die on both sides."

Evie went silent as her young mind tried to work through what she'd been told. It was a large concept to grasp, especially for a child who lived with Earths Mightiest Heroes and still saw the world as the black and white of good guys and bad guys.

"Do you see what I'm saying, little bird?"

"I…think so."

"Y'know, the first time your Móhðy and I had a proper conversation, I insulted him and he threw me out a window."

As hoped, Evie giggled quietly – sometimes it is wise not to underestimate a child's love of adults behaving stupidly. Tony's spirits rose a little at seeing his daughter look slightly happier.

"So Móhðy and Shield should have just sat down and talked about why they were feeling bad. Then the battle wouldn't have happened?"

"Well…I'm sure that would have been a sight to behold…" And one he was now never going to be able to _not_ think about! "Maybe it would have worked." _Probably not._ "But they didn't talk things through like sensible adults and so the battle happened. But do you see why Móhðy wasn't the bad guy? He was just on the other side."

Evie bit her thumbnail, but nodded slowly. "I…think so. But why didn't he agree with Shield? Aren't they in charge of keeping the world safe? Why didn't he want to listen to them?"

Damnit all for having a smart child! Find a good analogy, find a good analogy, find a – Ah!

"Do you remember in Aladdin when Jafar has the lamp?" Tony silently praised Disney. He smiled when his daughter nodded. "The genie had to do everything Jafar said, right? And he did mean things to Aladdin and Jasmine, but would you say the genie is a bad guy?"

"No, Jafar was making him do it." There was a pause as Evie tried to think through what she was being told, and Tony let her attempt to find the conclusion herself. "…Was someone making Móhðy do it?"

Bingo.

"Yes."

Another silence as the girl pieced some things together. "Is that who's after him now? Is that why he can't stay with us?"

"Yeah. But he's okay, you don't need to worry, he can look after himself."

That drew a proper smile out on his daughter's face. "I know, he can do anything!"

A child's faith in one of the world's most notorious super villains. Tony hugged her tightly.

"So, feel a bit better?"

"Yeah, thanks Daddy." Evie wiped her eyes on Tony's T-shirt. "Móhðy has a cool helmet." She added thoughtfully. "Would he let me try it on?"

The inventor laughed. "I'm sure he will."

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Christmas came round a month later, with all the usual hubbub and activity associated. This included choosing a tree, decorating said tree and everywhere else that could possibly hold tinsel, and getting food and presents ready.

Evie was especially fond of the food preparations. She'd shown great enthusiasm for cooking – although not as much talent, sadly – so whenever one or another of the Avenger's tried to cook up something for the festive season she spent the whole time getting under their feet. In the end Pepper had taken it upon herself to help the girl make some mince pies just to stop her from annoying everyone.

So when Loki turned up on Christmas Eve he was greeted with a large plate of the traditional pastries. They were slightly over-done and the filling was seeping out of a few but the small family sat down on Tony's bed to enjoy them like they were of 3 Michelin star quality.

"Did you know these were originally made with meat?" Loki said conversationally.

Evie looked at the pie she held, already half-eaten, and pulled a face. "Yuck! Meat would be nasty with sugar!"

"That's why it didn't _have_ sugar, silly." The trickster leaned over to tickle her under her chin and she squealed with delight, batting him away.

"Don't get crumbs on my bed…" Tony's complaint wasn't very emphatic and was promptly ignored. He smiled indulgently at his daughter and partner as Loki teased the girl and she shrieked with laughter. "You two are impossible!"

"God of mischief at your service." Loki was laughing as Evie retaliated and launched her own attack.

The God had healed well since they had last seen him; the ring of scars round his neck barely visible any more. Tony was pretty certain that in a few more weeks they would be gone entirely.

"Móhðy, can I wear your helmet?"

Loki looked shocked for a brief moment, eyes flickering to Tony for an explanation. The man shrugged uneasily.

"She accidently saw some of the footage of the battle. We've talked it over."

Evie just looked hopeful. "Can I wear your helmet? Pleeeeaaase?"

The trickster still seemed taken aback, but when he saw Tony's tiny nod of agreement he held his hands out and let the helm materialise in them. He lifted it up by the two horns and gently placed it on his daughter's head, where – being far too big for her – it slipped to a rakish angle.

The child didn't seem to care, clapping her hands together with delight and standing up to jump on the bed.

"Look at me Daddy! I'm a Goddess!"

Tony was laughing, and reached out to hold one of her hands, keeping her steady as she bounced about on the mattress. The helmet was too loose so she was having to hold onto it, and teamed with the Slade T-shirt she was wearing as a night-dress (Tony's again, he'd given up all hope of ever getting his band shirts back) the overall effect was both heart-warming and hilarious.

"Here!" The girl pulled the cumbersome thing off of her head and offered it out to her father with a grin. "You try."

The inventor's gaze fixed on the golden helmet with the long elegant horns. Unbidden, the memory of Loki wearing it in Germany came back to him – the first time they'd met. Loki killing innocent people without a thought, subjugating those that he had deemed beneath him, revelling in chaos and all the while wearing that helm …

Then he glanced up and found that two sets of green eyes were staring at him; Evie still offering out the head-gear in question and the God himself looking suddenly worried. The memories vanished as swiftly as they had raised their ugly heads – this wasn't the same Loki any more. Maybe it had been when they'd first started out together, all sharpness and spite and pain, but now they had a child, a life and it seemed that those things combined with the healing power of time had done the trickster the world of good.

"Go on then, put it on me."

Loki's face lit up with a big grin as Evie slipped the helmet onto Tony's head. It fitted far better than it had on the child's and was surprisingly not as awkwardly balanced as it looked. He turned his head one way, then the other, noting that it probably weighed only slightly more than his own Ironman helmet. One thing _was_ obvious though.

"How do you _hear_ anything in this?" Tony tried to readjust it, but no matter the angle it was still covering his ears and he had to lift it off to hear Loki's reply.

"Magic."

"That can't just be your answer to everything!"

The God of mischief stuck his tongue out and in response Tony held the helm out to him.

"We've had our turns. Your go."

"You've seen me wear it before."

"Humour me."

Loki retrieved his helmet with a sigh, turning it over in his hands. "I would rather not. I have refused to wear this for nearly a decade; it holds many memories, most of which are unpleasant."

The inventor frowned. It did make sense, that the symbol under which Loki had declared war was now abhorrent to him. But at the same time the trickster had worn the helmet for eons – winning battles and glory for Asgard as a prince and beloved family member. Didn't that count for something?

He took the golden horns out of Loki's hands, the metal warm and reassuring under his fingers.

"As you said; it's been nearly a decade. You aren't that person anymore." He said quietly. "You've got a new life, a daughter, a second chance and you've got _me_." A grin crossed his face. "Surely a _God_ of all people would understand forgiveness and redemption when he saw them?" And so saying he lifted the helmet up and placed it on Loki's head, almost as if it were a crown. "There we go; there's the guy the Vikings worshiped."

Evie, having no way of knowing the significance of what had just passed between her parents piped up; "I've learnt about the Vikings in history! They had cool boats."

The tension broke and Loki laughed. He looked…different in the helm. It suited him when he was in his full war gear, so by all accounts shouldn't work when he was wearing cargos and a shirt. Somehow he still managed to carry it off.

Smug bastard, Tony thought.

"-And they had axes!" Evie was still on her Viking rant; obviously it was a lesson she had enjoyed. "Móhðy, did you ever meet any Vikings?"

Loki smiled indulgently at the child's enthusiasm. "Of course I did."

Tony sat back with a grin, picking up another mince pie as his daughter and lover began an excited conversation on the merits of Vikings. Who better to talk about them than the very deity they had worshipped?

After Evie had gone to bed – her room now opened up onto the landing, Tony having decided that she was old enough to not need a direct link to him – Loki waved his hands and the helm vanished from his head.

"Thank you for letting her see it." Tony pressed a kiss to the side of the trickster's forehead, arm around the taller man's shoulders. "I hadn't realised it was a sore-spot for you."

"Most of the things concerning that time are a 'sore-spot' for me." The quotation marks fell neatly into place, almost sounding like sarcasm. "How did you explain it all to Evelyn, then?"

"Likened it to world war one." Maybe he said it too carelessly, but he almost overbalanced when the God he'd been leaning against backed away suddenly.

"_What?!" _Loki looked incensed. "_Millions_ died in that war! How are the two even comparable?!"

Tony held up his hands hurriedly. "No! Not like that! I meant in the way that there weren't necessarily good guys or bad guys. I was trying to explain how a war can happen without any one single person being to blame. I succeeded too."

"Hmm." The trickster was still looking less than impressed, but his ruffled feathers seemed to settle somewhat. "Not the best of examples you could have used. World War One was beyond what you Christian's refer to as Hell, beyond the apocalypse and even beyond our own Ragnarok. I have never seen a race treat itself so cruelly as it did then."

"You say that like you were there."

"I fought in the Somme."

Tony raised an eyebrow in surprise. Somehow the mental image of Loki in a soldier's uniform wasn't as hard to grasp as one might have thought. "Which side?"

"That's not relevant."

"Huh. So, was that a one off, or have you had a look at a lot of history? I remember what you said about the Titanic." He added with a grin.

Loki returned the expression. "I have witnessed most of the important moments in history." He said smugly. "I helped haul stone for the pyramids, campaigned across a continent for a Macedonian king, defended Jerusalem against the crusaders, you name it, I was there. Watching, participating and very occasionally manipulating; when it suited."

"Why?"

The trickster smirked. He rolled onto his stomach, stretching out like a feline before crawling up the bed to straddle Tony's lap where the man was still sitting against the headboard. "Because." He ran his hands through the man's hair, almost seeming to stare _through_ him. "Because humanity is everything that we Gods can't be." Leaning forwards the trickster rested his forehead against his partner's. "For _half a million years_ I have lived in Asgard and seen nothing change. Oh, we war and squabble and forge treaties with other realms, but we never move on, we never learn and we never grow as a people or culture. When I first saw humanity I was astounded! All you seem to _do_ is change. Your very existence as a species is built upon growing and adapting, evolving, living every day with the knowledge that you may never see another. You learnt and discovered and built and created all based upon your mortality. Not just new thoughts but new _ways_ of thinking. Humanity fashioned such things as have never been seen in Asgard in such brief life-times: skyscrapers, the internet, cathedrals, the Mona Lisa, the pyramids, the Great Wall of China! All this from a race of monkeys!" He stopped his rant with a deep sigh. "I followed humanity because I realised that in truth you are more than we _deities_-" The word was almost spat. "-Could ever be."

Tony stared at the taller man in silent awe.

"I…People sometimes wonder what it is like to see the world through the eyes of a God..." He finally whispered. "I never thought it would be like that."

"Maybe now you can understand a little of how I view you and Evelyn."

The pure honesty and emotion in his voice _burned_.

"My God…" The casual blasphemy slipped out before Tony could really think – it's all too common a way of swearing. Then he smiled and cupped Loki's cheek, their breath mingling. "_My_ God."

"Yours. Always yours." The trickster closed the distance between them, his lips claiming Tony's in a gentle kiss.

It only lasted a few brief moments before the inventor suddenly heaved up and rolled them both over so that he was lying full length on top of the taller man. Loki laughed, his arms moving to wrap around his partner's shoulders.

"You are _incorrigible_, Stark!"

"Uh, yeah? It's taken you this long to realise this?" Tony nudged the trickster's chin up with his forehead so that he could attack the pale throat that was exposed. He nipped just hard enough to bring out a bruise and grinned when Loki groaned underneath him. "And I don't hear you complaining."

"Oh shut up. I'm a deity. I can command you, and right now I'm commanding you to get on with it!"

"Eleventh commandment?"

"Wrong religion, Stark."

Tony sniggered and leaned up to sink his teeth into the lobe of Loki's ear. "Whatever, like I've ever paid attention to all that divinity stuff anyway." He pulled back to make eye-contact. "Now if you want to speed this up make with the mojo and get rid of our clothes."

"You are impatient beyond all reason!" The trickster laughed and flicked his partner on the nose. "What am I to do with you?!" He didn't wait for an answer and instead waved his hand through a fluent series of gestures that resulted in leaving the two of them suddenly bare.

"I _love_ that trick." Tony's voice was heavily muffled as he pressed his mouth firmly against Loki's shoulder, sucking at the warm flesh to raise a red mark. He heard a soft chuckle in reply, and the trickster's long fingers splaying against his back. Feeling Loki shift under him he purposely manoeuvred his leg between the taller man's thighs. "I'm topping?"

"Mmm, we'll see." The God tangled his hands in his partner's hair, bending his knee to rub against the man and cause enough friction to draw a hiss from Tony. "Maybe I want to."

"You always just _say_ you want to, then allow me to pound you through the mattress."

"And if I want to return the favour this time?"

Tony raised himself up his elbows so that his arms bracketed the trickster's head. "Do you?"

"It's been more than a few years, Tony." The words had a little bit of a bite to them, enough to show that Loki was displeased that his request wasn't being treated as Gospel law. Some things never change. "It is entirely reasonable for me to wish to reverse the habit we appear to have fallen into."

"Don't tell me you're getting tired of my ability to - what's that term you use? - 'rend you senseless'?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten my ability to fuck you until your brain falls out."

Tony's mouth dropped open at the profanity, his mind short-circuiting. Sure, Loki _knew_ what all the colloquialisms and slang meant, but he very rarely _used _them_. _The surprise was enough for the inventor not to protest when he was promptly rolled onto his back and straddled by an unbearably smug Norse God.

"Oh." The man wriggled slightly and found himself well and truly pinned.

"I'd forgotten how delicious you look beneath me." Loki mused. "Maybe I'll turn the tables more often." He leant down to hiss the words into his partner's ear.

Tony shuddered, running his hands down the firm thighs that held his body in place, digging his fingers into the defined muscles. "I think I might just let you."

"Oh you say it like you have a choice!" Loki laughed softly, leaning down to kiss the trapped man. It had been a long time since he had taken on the dominant role, and for the life of him he couldn't remember _why_ he'd left it so long as Tony arched beneath him, his arousal stirring to brush the trickster's thigh. "I'm going to make you _squirm_." He whispered.

"Promises, promises…" Tony chuckled as the God trailed a pathway down his throat in a series of nips and kisses. He struggled again, a token protest, before settling back to let his partner do as he wished.

As noted before, Loki had earned the name of Silvertongue for more than just his skill with words. He ran his mouth across the mortal's chest in a whispering caress that made Tony jump and shiver whenever he reached especially ticklish spots – mostly the man's stomach – reminding himself of each and every patch of warm flesh that drew a reaction from the human.

"You are _not_ playing fair." Stark hissed.

"Hmm, I never do." Loki dipped his head down to graze his teeth across the man's inner thigh, so close to where Tony wanted him to be and yet refusing to do anything that was not entirely on his own terms. "Maybe I can be persuaded to move onto something more to your current wishes if you were to ask nicely."

Tony chuckled. "Oh hell no! No way are you going to play _that_ game!"

The trickster sat back up to meet his partner's gaze with the most innocent expression he could possibly muster. "But I do so enjoy hearing you beg."

"Not. Happening."

"We'll see." And _there_ was that dark smile that was worthy only of the God of mischief himself. He resumed worrying the sensitive flesh of the man's thigh until the red mark he'd created began to bruise properly and would last for at least a few days. His mark.

"Ow." Tony sounded anything but pained though, as he fidgeted, his unmolested leg bending at the knee to brush Loki's shoulder. "Again with the biting…Is it an Aesir thing or Jötunn?"

Loki chuckled. "I have only had the misfortune to sleep with one Jötunn, and yes, biting was very much a large part of the experience." He nuzzled his nose against the bruise. "Don't tell me you don't like it…" The movement meant that his cheek brushed up against the man's erection and Tony sucked his breath in with a hiss. "I'm sorry? What was that?" The trickster repeated the movement again with more purpose and heard the man release a shuddering sigh in response.

"I'm not going to crack, Loki…" Tony's determination was good, he'd allow that much, but the way his voice shook rather ruined the effect.

"Oh yes you are." Loki ran a single finger up the full length of his partner's arousal, tracing the thick vein along the underside. He felt the man shiver again when he followed the same path with his tongue. "It just may take a few more tricks for you to do so."

Tony let out a strangled yelp as the trickster once again proved that, to a God, there's no such thing as a gag reflex and with no further ado took the entirety of the man's erection down his throat.

"Jesus _Christ_! A little warning!"

And the smug bastard simply _hummed_ in response.

Tony thumped his fist against the mattress with a curse before his voice trailed off into a languid moan. Okay, yeah, Loki could really use that mouth of his…

Sucking, licking, a gentle scrape of teeth, a vacuum, everything that the man loved and everything that Loki knew would slowly drive him round the bend. Tony was panting shallowly, his fingers finding their way into the trickster's hair as the dark head bobbed up and down over him. It felt good, hell it felt beyond amazing, but he seriously didn't think it was going to make him give in at any time.

In fact, there was nothing the man really needed to beg for; Loki was taking _very_ good care of him. Already he could feel that curling heat beginning to pool in the pit of his stomach, along with the warm smugness of knowing that he'd held out and beaten the trickster at his own game.

"Loki…Nearly there…I…God…"

And then, _just _as he reached the crest of the wave there was a sudden vicious pinch at the base of his erection, completely denying him the ability to orgasm.

"_Fuck_! Loki, what the _fuck_?!" He would have been embarrassed at how shrill his voice was if it wasn't for the fact that _Loki had stopped him from finishing_!

The trickster released the pulsing erection from his mouth long enough to smirk up at the man. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want something?"

"You _bastard_!"

"I'm quite aware of my parentage and rest assured they were married." And so saying he simply dipped his head back down, continuing right where he left off.

Tony groaned loudly, thumping his head against his pillow and fisting his hand in his partner's hair. God, but it felt amazing! Cruel? Yes, but absolutely mind-blowing at the same time.

Loki quickly and skilfully brought him back to the same point before pulling exactly the same stunt again, much to the man's dismay. Then he began getting his fingers involved too.

Stark had no idea where his partner had found the lube, but he was still thrashing around and cursing the air blue when there was suddenly a slick finger against his entrance, pressing gently.

"Ah! Damn you Loki!"

All he got in return was a chuckle that sent vibrations right through him and the finger suddenly pushing past the tight ring of muscle and making him squirm all the worse.

"You know what I want to hear, Tony." It had to be magic. A projected voice or something, because Loki's mouth never left his erection.

"Not…happening…"

One finger became two, and all the while the sinful mouth never stopped, never paused. Tony arched his back with a yelp as Loki successfully brushed his prostate and then ground back down against the fingers, needing more.

By the third time the trickster blocked off his orgasm (and he had more than a sneaking suspicion that magic was being utilized since there was no _way_ the trick should be that effective!) Stark was beginning to see the benefits in giving in to Loki's demands. Tears of frustration were running down his cheeks, his breathing broken up into a shuddering mess as he twisted helplessly under the God's skilled mouth and hands.

"Ah…_fuck_…can't…Loki, I can't…"

"You know what I want to hear." The disembodied voice sounded unbearably smug.

Fine. God damnit but he just could _not_ take it anymore!

"_Please_!" Tony gasped. "Loki, please!"

The trickster sat up, fingers still moving inside his partner in a lazy rhythm. "Please what?"

"_Git_! Please fuck me. You win…just…_damnit_…just fuck me already!"

The overwhelming smugness on Loki's face was almost too much to bear. He leant over to kiss Tony, his fingers still inside the inventor and applying enough gentle pressure that it was obvious he wanted the man to raise his hips.

"Wait…wait…" Tony broke the kiss, panting hard as he stared up at the God. "Not this way…I can't…"

"Tony?"

The man laughed breathlessly. "Nothing bad, I promise. I'm just not that flexible anymore."

"Oh…" Loki removed his fingers and pulled himself off of the warm body so that Tony could roll over and push himself up to his hands and knees. It really hadn't occurred to the immortal God that in the ten years they had known each other the man had been _aging_.

"I do hope this doesn't mean I have to be gentle."

"I might have to kill you if you are."

"Oh _good_." And so saying and with no other warning Loki drove forwards and buried himself in the man's willing body.

Tony howled, falling forwards to his elbows. When he'd said that the God needn't be gentle he hadn't really intended to be split in two. It hurt, hell yeah it hurt, but blood-and-sands it felt good! He didn't realise that he had tensed up until a hand was rested on his back, cool and soothing.

"Are you alright?"

"…One moment." He was surprised that Loki actually listened and waited as he let the pain subside to a manageable level before pushing himself up off his elbows. "Right. I'm good."

"Knew you still had it in you." The trickster wasn't one for putting on the kids gloves when he was in charge, and took Tony at his word.

The man arched his back, cursing as his partner set a punishing rhythm; hard and fast and just how he liked it. Yeah, it had been a while and yeah he was really going to feel it the next day, but surely that was the _point_!

He had already been brought to the point of orgasm three times, only to be denied, so Tony was unsurprised to find the fourth attempt building up. Loki knew exactly where to aim for inside of him to bring stars to his eyes with each thrust and in growing desperation he moved his hand to his aching erection.

"Allow me." The trickster's voice sounded remarkably steady all things considered as he knocked Tony's fingers out of the way and wrapped his own fist around the human's arousal in a firm grip. He chuckled when he felt the man tense slightly. "I promise to allow you release this time." He didn't allow Tony chance to reply as he began to move his hand in time with his thrusts.

"Bloody…hell…Loki…" The man collapsed back to his elbows, burying his head in his forearms. It was getting hard to think as his world concentrated down to the thrusting pressure against his prostate and the insistent grip around his erection. There was no such thing as dignity anymore; just a constant litany of pleas and curses as the God drove him relentlessly into his release.

"Ah! _Fuck_! Loki…." The man came undone, stars blinding his vision – and, hey, he'd thought that was a metaphor, but apparently it was actually _happening_ – the trickster's name on his lips as a keening wail. He collapsed onto his stomach, repeating '_Loki'_ over and over, the movement causing the God to pull out of him.

Bloody hell! When was the last time he'd been that thoroughly satisfied?!

Tony realised he must have actually zoned out for a few moments, because the next thing he knew he was lying on his side – still panting heavily – with Loki lying almost on top of him.

"That sounds like you enjoyed yourself."

"Stop sounding smug…"

"How can I help it?" Loki purred, spooning up behind the man and whispering directly into his ear. "The sounds you make when you finally give in are simply delicious."

"Smug…" Tony rolled over with a groan, uncaring about the sticky mess left smeared across his stomach. He grinned lazily as he felt his partner's erection firm and warm against his thigh. "If you're looking for me to reciprocate then you're gonna be waiting a while – human recovery periods and all that."

"You're a supposed genius, you'll think of something." The trickster moved away from the man just enough to stretch out languidly on his back. "Surprise me."

Stark's eyes lit up. "You know that is exactly the _wrong_ thing to say to someone like me, right?"

The smirk he got in return was downright sinful. "Why do you think I said it? I'm nearly as old as your entire species; there is little left that I haven't tried." The trickster gestured elegantly at his naked body. "I repeat: surprise me."

He chuckled as the man moved to straddle his waist, his hands drifting up to rest on Tony's hips in the mirror of how he had pinned the inventor down at the beginning of their encounter.

"I have some things in mind." Tony leant down to scrape his teeth along his partners left nipple, gently grazing the sensitive flesh until it drew up into a tight bud. "But they depend on how much you trust me."

One of Loki's hands had wandered up to splay against the man's back, and his fingers dug in as Stark's teeth pulled and tugged until he moaned.

"Why…do you ask…?" After already indulging himself in bringing his partner to completion the God wasn't far away himself, and was hoping that he could last out to see what the man had in mind.

Tony slid himself backwards a little so that when he dipped his head back down he was right in-line to run his tongue along the head of the trickster's erection.

"You never answered my question." He breathed, smirking as the gentle breeze of his words made Loki shiver. "How much do you trust me?"

"Enough, I'm sure. What…ah!...what do you have in mind?" The God tried to focus his mind over the insistent mouth lapping at his erection.

"I want to see you. The real you."

Loki pushed his partner's head away in attempt to allow his mind to clear. "You've seen the 'real me'. You've screwed the 'real me' through the mattress." The colloquialism sounded odd with his formal accent.

"No, I don't mean your Smurf get-up." Tony kept his tone light, but there was something in his voice that made the God wonder what he was up to. "I mean _you_." He sat up a little, obviously frustrated that he wasn't getting his point across as Loki stared at him expectantly. "I want to see what you've hidden from your lover's all your life. I want you to trust me enough to take the enchantment off." A round-about way of saying it, but Tony was always verbose when he was trying to convey something important.

The trickster's eyes widened and he half sat up, understanding lighting his gaze as he realised what the man was trying to ask for. "You want to see my true hermaphroditic form?" He whispered. "But why? You've already seen it anyway."

"Yeah, but you were giving birth at the time and I wasn't exactly in an enquiring frame of mind since I was acting as mid-wife for my own daughter." Tony ran his hand across his partner's chest, trying to chase away the uneasiness that had appeared in the God's expression. "And why? Because I want to know you in every way that's possible. Because it's been a very long time since I first blasted you off your feet in Germany and you're still a riddle to me. I know damn well I'll never be able to truly understand or know all your secrets – Norse God and all that – but I'll take anything you're willing to give. I want to know _you_."

"You're…the first to ever want to." Loki's expression was shuttered and inscrutable as he stared up at the man.

"Will you let me?"

The trickster turned his face away, staring off into the darkened room. Tony wondered hopelessly if he'd finally pushed too far, but stayed silent as he waited for an answer – either positive or negative.

"I…I struggled with this aspect of myself for the entirety of my youth and after learning the enchantment to conceal it I have never willingly removed it. Even during childbirth it's not something I choose to do, but rather a consequence of my powers fleeing during the labour." The admission was quiet, spoken into the emptiness of the rest of the room rather than to Tony. "I believe I know my Jötunn markings better than I know my own true reproductive anatomy."

That was saying something. Whilst Loki had made his peace with his heritage, it didn't mean he _liked_ it. Accepting the frost giant blood running through his veins was one thing, but he rarely if ever changed to his natural form. Showing Evie had possibly been the only time he'd done so willingly.

Silence was most certainly not one of Tony's virtues, but he was managing very well as he tried to let Loki work through the dilemma posed by his request. It was nearly three minutes – so much longer to wait through than it sounds – before the trickster turned his head back to meet the inventors gaze.

"Yes."

"Huh?"

Loki chuckled quietly. "I said _yes_, you stupid mortal." He shook his head with a wry smile. "The Norns alone know why, but I will allow you this."

"Oh…" Tony smiled, a much gentler expression than his usual shit-eating grin, as he realised the absolute trust being put in him. "Thank you…"

"Hmm. I'm still not entirely sure what you're intending to do, but…well…I trust you."

"I'll endeavour not to disappoint you." If nothing else he was far _far_ too aware of the damage Loki could inflict should he make the wrong move. Not that he was intending to make the wrong move, of course.

The man leant back down and kissed along Loki's inner thigh, his cheek brushing the God's erection. The trickster was still edgy and he tensed as Tony paused at the hollow of his hip, the man evidently spotting the anatomical changes and trying not to stare. He closed his eyes and tried to relax.

Tony didn't know what he was expecting but was almost disappointed at how mundane the change was. Maybe he'd been envisaging some sort of mutation or hybrid merge, or even something entirely unheard of. As it was there was little difference beyond the addition of a familiar type of opening in place of the perineum. Tony Stark had slept with more than enough women in his life to recognise the female genitalia when he saw it.

"Well?" Loki's voice was quiet, uncertain. "Curiosity sated?"

"May I touch?"

The trickster huffed in annoyance. "_Must_ you?! I hardly see what you could gain."

"I won't gain anything; you might enjoy it though."

"I highly doubt that."

"Trust me? It's not like I'll hurt you."

There was silence for a few moments before Loki sighed irritably. "Fine, but I will make it _abundantly_ clear should I dislike anything you do."

"I assumed that much." Tony grinned and leant down to wrap his mouth around the head of his partner's erection again, tongue moving against the firm flesh. The trickster was still tense underneath him, but responded well enough to the stimulation, arching slightly into the contact.

The man took it slow, doing nothing more than teasing Loki's erection until he had the God gasping hoarsely, twisting underneath him. It was a given that the trickster wasn't going to fully relax - this was too new and too strange for him to accept completely - but he didn't protest when Tony's hand brushed up to the very top of his inner thigh.

If there was one thing Tony Stark was good at outside of a lab then it was – in his words – the Art of Love. He had been there, seen it and done it all. The kinks, the quirks, men, women, multiple, experienced, virgins, he knew the best techniques for each and every one. In short he made Casanova look like a monk. So to be confronted with a hermaphroditic God with extreme self-esteem issues was not actually all that strange to him. He could work with this.

Loki tensed up as he felt a gentle finger brush along unknown areas, the feeling so foreign that he couldn't even tell if it was uncomfortable or not. The touch was light, asking permission as it slid along unfamiliar flesh.

Tony tried to keep his partner distracted by continuing to use his mouth over the trickster's arousal, licking and sucking in every way that he knew Loki liked in an attempt to divert him from the other touch.

It meant that once two fingers finally breached the hitherto unused entrance the God was not paying attention and the sudden sensation made him arch up with a gasp.

"_Oh_!"

Tony glanced up, not necessarily concerned since Loki hadn't sounded like he objected, but wanting to check just in case.

"Does it hurt?"

"….No…" The single word was breathy and wondering.

The man kept his fingers still, allowing his partner to grow used to the sensation of fullness in the new place. Loki's genitalia didn't include a clitoris, but Tony knew more than enough tricks to make up for the lack, especially when he still had his tongue wrapped around the trickster's erection. Once the tight heat around his fingers relaxed slightly he began to move them, slowly at first so that Loki could grow used to the sensation.

"How does that feel?" He lifted his head up enough to ask the question.

"Mnn…Not as bad as…as I expected…"

"Well, it's only going to get better. Feel up to more?"

"I…yes?…" Loki was relaxing, pliant under the man's hands as his body accepted that there could be a new form of pleasure found this way.

Tony grinned. He began to up the speed his fingers were moving at, still being careful but starting to increase the stimulation. He paid close attention to Loki's reactions, making sure that nothing he did was painful and aiming continuously for the small spot that he knew lay inside. And he was _good_ at aiming. It didn't take long for his partner to start panting hoarsely, a hand coming down to grasp at the man's short hair.

"Valhalla, _Tony…_More…need something…need _more_…"

"You sure?"

"_Please_…" Loki arched his back, not even really sure what he was asking for but his body desperate for it all the same.

Tony decided to take him at face value. He sat up a little, leaving the God's arousal to focus purely on working the tight passage. Placing a palm on his partner's stomach he continued to move his fingers in a circular motion, faster and harder, years of experience telling him exactly what would send the trickster crazy.

The different sensation made Loki buck up into the contact, raising his hips without realising. If he'd been more aware to anything other than what Tony was doing to him he would have been mortified by his whimpers and nonsensical pleas – the Silvertongue turned to an incoherent mess. As it was he didn't care how he sounded, every fibre of his being intent only on the building heat inside of him that was familiar and yet so different.

Tony wasn't sure he'd ever seen the trickster come this undone before; needy and writhing beneath him. The usually pale body was flushed, sweat running in thin rivulets across tensed muscles as he gasped and moaned.

"You know you look like a porn-star right now?" Tony's voice was lustful and soft. "I can feel how close you are, are you going to let go for me, Loki?"

"I…" The God seemed incapable of speech, or at the very least he hadn't really taken on-board what his partner had said. "I…Tony…_close_…" His hand had drifted down to loosely grasp his own erection and was knocked out of the way as Tony took over the job – matching the speed to that of his fingers inside the trickster's body.

It didn't take much more. A few firm strokes along the God's arousal and suddenly Loki was arching up with a sound that could only be described as a scream. He twisted wildly as Tony mercilessly continued the stimulation through his orgasm, entirely losing control as his body shook and shuddered under the onslaught of pleasure. Losing control to the extent that a small burst of blue sparks appeared over their heads, making Tony blink in surprise.

It wasn't until the cries turned to exhausted whimpers that the inventor finally withdrew his fingers with a small chuckle.

"Guess I was right then; you did enjoy it."

Loki had his eyes squeezed tightly closed with his hand thrown over them, breathing heavily. However, he managed a breathless chuckle at his partner's quip, causing another shower of stars to appear.

"Damn you, Stark…" The three words were practically purred as the mortal stroked his hand along the trickster's thigh.

"Not very emphatic."

Loki chuckled weakly, removing his hand from his eyes just enough to mock-glare at his partner. His gaze was caught by the dissipating sparkles above them and the hand went straight back to where it had been with a loud groan of embarrassment.

"I was but a mere _youth_ the last time my magic went unchecked during climax." The complaint was muffled by his wrist, but Tony caught enough of it to laugh.

"Well, it was very pretty. The magic that is. Although you were quite something to behold yourself, of course."

Loki half-heartedly batted at him with his free hand, but he clearly didn't have enough energy to actually mean it.

"Do not mock me, Tony Stark."

"Oh shush, you're completely sexed out and currently as weak as a kitten; threats just sound absurd." Tony leant down to push Loki's hand out of the way and kiss him. "But on a serious note – was that better than you'd expected?"

The trickster grinned up at him, eyes half-lidded and lazy. "I will go so far as to admit that it was far more than I could have either expected or hoped for. I did not believe Jötunn anatomy would allow that sort of pleasure."

The man snorted. "Really? Why the hell didn't you ever just experiment? Would have discovered this a lot sooner and been able to have more fun rather than just angsting over it."

"I was but a child when I changed my appearance to male, too young to be sexually active."

"Huh." Tony settled himself down on the mattress next to his partner, allowing the trickster to pull him into his arms: The God of Mischief being a post-coital cuddler.

They lay in silence for a while, Loki's breathing finally slowing back to normal and his magic settling enough for him to remove the mess they'd left across the sheets with a lazy wave of his hand. Tony felt unbearably smug about having proved his point that Loki would enjoy exploring his true body, and was already concocting various plans as to future enterprises.

The trickster however was, in Anthony Starks own words, sexed out.

He had tucked the man's head under his chin, curling round so that his own chest was flush against his partner's back. He had slipped his arm around Tony and rested his hand on the inventor's arc-reactor, the near-undetectable hum familiar under his fingers.

"Hey, are you falling asleep?"

"Mmm, possibly…"

"Well, before you do, I'd rather like to ask a question."

Loki sighed heavily, his breath ghosting over the hair on the back of Tony's neck.

"Oh if you must…"

The man rolled over to face the God, his expression uncharacteristically serious. "That stuff you said about humanity, how much you are in awe of us." He said softly. "What the hell did the void and the chitauri _do_ to you?"

"I…What?" Loki froze, snapping back into full alertness. Damn it all but he hadn't expected the man to read that much into his impassioned speech earlier.

"Well, if you think we puny mortals are that awesome, then the experience must have done a real number on you to cause you to try to destroy us." Despite his words, Tony's voice wasn't condemning. Instead he gently ran a hand down the God's cheek. "What happened?"

Loki managed a weak smile. "Is this really the time to have this conversation?"

"We both feel warm, happy and safe. I think it's the best time. Not to mention we see each other twice a year. When else could we possibly _have_ this conversation?"

The human had a point. They were hardly blessed with time to spare for such matters and if they still needed to clear the air about certain things then there was no time like the present. Loki sighed heavily and nodded, leaning into the hand resting on his cheek.

"Fine. What do you wish to know?"

"When I asked you about the attack last time I asked 'Why?'." Tony said slowly. "Now I'm thinking I asked the wrong question. I think I should have asked 'What did they do to you?'."

The God huffed with soft laughter, although there was no humour to it. What did they do, indeed…

It wasn't a simple question, and the start of it all actually reached back far before the void claimed him.

Carefully he explained to his partner about the manner in which he had found out his heritage.

The timing of it all couldn't have been worse, really. He had allowed a handful of Jötnar in to disrupt Thor's coronation in a bid to show just how unfit his brother was for rule. What he hadn't taken into account was just how fool-hardy Thor would be. The plan had been to go to Jötenheim, then leave after a verbal confrontation.

And how well _that_ plan had worked.

To then find out his true heritage whilst still trying to come to terms with the thought that his own machinations had ended with his brother's exile was almost too much to handle. And just when a terrified and heart-broken young man could have really done with some answers and loving reassurance, Odin had fallen into the coma-like state that rendered him useless.

No king, no heir, only the younger prince who was on the cusp of an emotional breakdown. Loki was scared, lonely and hurting and turned to the one thing he knew how to do: twist the appearance of events.

He needed Thor back – _Asgard_ needed Thor back – and as stand-in to the throne, he did not have the power to do it himself and therefore relied on the blundering oaf to fulfil Mjölnir's conditions alone.

Like _that_ would happen.

So Loki lied and manipulated, convincing his brother and four friends that he meant to kill them. Only Thor could fall for such a cliché way of regaining his powers, but it was all Loki had to work with in such a short amount of time and it did succeed.

The whole plan worked out well enough for Thor in the end, and once again Loki allowed himself to be used as the scape-goat. By the end he had just stopped caring.

His family weren't his family, his brother had changed almost beyond recognition, he was a monster – _the_ monster, the one that graced all the childhood tales – and he'd killed his true birth father.

Throwing himself from the bifrost was meant to end it all.

"Suicide?" Tony whispered.

"It was all I had left. I just wanted the pain to be over."

But it didn't end the pain at all.

Death searched for the falling God, calling his name, but he had been swallowed into the void between worlds, and he was beyond such outside means. With a mind filled with agony and loss the broken trickster, who wished only for his own demise, had then been confronted with all the horrors that the void contained – the worst of which he'd already explained to his partner; seeing that he was just as useless and insignificant as he felt when confronted with the full might of the universe.

By the time he fell to the world of the chitauri his mind was nearly gone, broken into pieces so small that it would have seemed near impossible to repair. Such a perfect vessel for Thanos and his army.

"I don't remember everything that happened." He admitted quietly. "But every memory I do still have is nothing but pain. My mind was almost gone, so they made sure to send it the rest of the way, breaking my body so many times until I couldn't even remember my own name." He ran a shaking hand through his hair. "Towards the end I had no will left. Nothing mattered any more, all I could do was obey, lest the pain began again."

"But you broke free in the end."

A smile flashed across Loki's face and Tony almost shied away. Cruel, cold, dark, it was the smile that had terrorised the Avenger's and that the rest of the team still had nightmares about.

"The sceptre. It was intended to help control me – the wretched thing had a direct link into my brain so that the moment I began to stray from the agreed plan a bolt of pain would be sent through me as a reminder. I grew used to it enough not to show it after a while." The trickster said darkly. "But I was slowly regaining my sense of self, not just following the script they had laid out for me. That was how I had Selvig add the off switch into the machine, and hence why I abandoned the sceptre during the fight."

"You were trying to let us win."

"I was doing my damnedest to _help_ you win."

Tony broke the tense atmosphere with a smile. "And yet you still –"

"Threw you out a window, yes."

The man pressed a kiss to the trickster's nose. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For all the shit you've been through. Hell, I'd have gone mad as a hatter _without_ the whole torture part." He cupped Loki's cheek. "Everything always seems to want to smack you round the face, doesn't it? I've read the legends, you weren't treated very well."

Loki managed a self-deprecating smile. "I deserved most of it." He ran a finger across his lips. "And certainly learnt to never break a deal with a dwarf."

"I'll keep that in mind." Tony caught his partner's hand and turned it over to kiss the knuckles. "Thank you for trusting me with all of this, I know it can't be easy for you to say it all."

"Actually, talking seems to help a little." Loki's voice was trailing back to his sleepy tone and he tucked his head into Tony's shoulder. "Thank you for listening. Not many have ever bothered."

"It's what I'm here for." The inventor wrapped his arms around the warm body – warm, such an odd term for a frost giant – and rested his cheek on the top of Loki's head. "I'm glad you got your mind back." He added, almost as an afterthought. "This whole situation may suck, but at least we're in it together."

The God chuckled softly. "I'm rather thankful too – if nothing else I'm glad I do no longer desire to destroy the human race as Thanos had wished."

"Yeah. This Thanos guy, is he going to be a problem for us too?"

"No. The chitauri were but one of many of his armies. When I failed them and they therefore failed him he abandoned them. We will see nothing of him." Loki spoke the last sentence around a yawn, but continued speaking. "It is one of the reasons they hunt me. Not only did I fail them, and therefore broke my oath to them, but I have also doomed their race – they relied on Thanos to bring their species into greater prominence in the universe. And of course, if they let me go then others may think of failing them too. If they wish to uphold their reputation then they need to get their hands on me and show that they follow through with threats."

"Huh." Tony's embrace tightened. "Well, I'm not going to let you be a bad PR stunt any time soon. You're all mine, Reindeer Games, they can't have you."

"Territorial much…?" The trickster's quiet voice trailed off and a few moments later his breathing deepened into true sleep.

The inventor smiled and held him close.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

"Santa's been! Santa's been! _Wake up_!"

Tony groaned and opened his eyes enough to stare balefully at his alarm clock. The digital display cheerfully informed him that it was six thirty in the morning and therefore _way_ too early to be awake.

Once upon a time Mr Stark wouldn't emerge from bed until gone ten and on Christmas day would often stay in until well into the afternoon. How life changes when one has children.

Evie was bouncing up and down on the bed between her parents, her dressing gown haphazardly thrown on over the Christmas pyjamas she was wearing. It took Tony a long moment to realise that the word 'parents' was a plural and that there was a warm arm slung over his back. He moved his head to see Loki sprawled out next to him, blinking slowly awake and looking somewhat disorientated.

"Wha' timesit?" Well, what do you know? Seems that the God of mischief is not a morning person.

"Too early."

"Hmm…"

"Wake _up_ Móhðy!" Evie pummelled Loki with one of the spare cushions, before pulling the duvet away to try and force her parents to get up.

Tony yelped, mindful that he and the trickster had fallen asleep in a state that he'd rather his daughter didn't see. However, he realised as the covers were ripped off him that Loki had had the presence of mind to conjure them both a pair of pyjama bottoms.

"Santa's been, _look_!" The girl held up a full stocking – the house-keeping robots had played the role of Father Christmas – with a huge grin on her face.

"So I see." Tony dragged himself upright and rubbed his eyes with one hand. He patted the space between himself and Loki, who had also sat up, inviting the child to sit down. "Come on, let's see what loot he's given you this year then."

Loki glanced at the clock, noting that he had could only afford to stay another hour or so unless they wanted to start risking an unwelcome visit from the chitauri.

However, an hour was long enough to see his daughter open the presents in her stocking – shrieking with glee at each one – and for them to all have another mince-pie each.

On the other hand it was still difficult to say goodbye despite the fact that Jarvis had playing Christmas carols in the background to create the Christmas spirit. Loki had Evie balanced on one hip when he gave Tony a kiss goodbye, since she refused to relinquish her hold on him.

"I'll be coming back soon, little bird."

"My birthday is in September. That isn't soon, that's…" She paused to count in her head, then continued ruthlessly, "Nine months away!"

"All the more time for you to grow taller in."

"I don't want to grow taller, I want you here." The girl buried her face in his shoulder, clinging tightly.

Loki exchanged a hopeless glance with Tony over her head. "And I want to be here too, you know that Evelyn, but it just isn't possible."

"You're a God! _Make_ it possible!"

"Evie, you aren't helping here, sweetie." Tony said softly.

"I don't _care_! I want Móhðy to stay!" Evie wasn't crying, she wasn't the sort of child that cried often, but her tone of voice made it clear that tears were imminent as she stared at Loki. "I don't care about the monsters and I don't care if the others don't like you, I just want you to stay."

"I need to get rid of the monsters first." Loki said quietly. "Once they are gone then I promise I'll never leave again. Okay, little bird? I promise I will _never_ leave you again, but I need to make sure you are safe first. I need to make sure they can never get to you. Do you understand?" When the child didn't answer he sighed and gently persuaded her to lift her head up to make eye contact with a finger under her chin. "I need you to understand me, Evelyn, I need you to know that I'm staying away to keep you safe."

"…I know."

It was a lot to ask of a six year old – to accept that the loss of her mother was necessary to her own survival. To understand the meaning of the word _sacrifice_ and how it applied to her family. It was a lot to ask, but Evie was a clever child, and if not able to grasp the whole concept she could at least appreciate that the situation, however undesirable, was to protect her.

So she nodded and reluctantly loosened her hold around Loki's neck enough for him to pass her to her father.

"I will see you soon, little bird, and maybe by then I will have ended the monsters for good."

"Love you, Móhðy."

"I know, I love you too my darling."

MWMWMWMWMWMMWMWMW

**Aww, aren't they adorable?!**

**Anyhow, enough of the saccharine stuff; some major plot is due and will be taking place next chapter (was meant to be in this one, was ousted by smut). **

**Also; I've had some people asking to see more of Evie, especially her interacting with the other Avenger's. Now, I don't like writing OC's, mostly because I know that they can be terribly unpopular in stories. I've tried to keep Evie to the background somewhat but if you'd like to see a little more of her please do say! I'll admit to having grown fond of her so I won't object to giving her a little more limelight.**

**Conversely, if she's really annoying, also please tell me! She's important to the plot, but I can still tone her down so that she's just floating around in the background. **

**Or is the current balance okay?**

**Your call, guys.**


	7. Chapter 7

**First and foremost: Happy 2013! I hope this year will bring luck and happiness to you all. I can't thank you all enough for sticking with this story!**

**Here is the chapter that has been in my mind since I first wrote that one-shot. It's not as long as some other ones, but dear Odin, the PLOT! It appears! After all this time there is a moving plot-line to this fic!**

**And I hope you don't all kill me when you see what happens…**

**Warning: Discussion of child death and child jeopardy. **

As much as having a daughter had changed Tony's life, in the end he hadn't needed to give up Ironman altogether. Now that Evie was older it was easier for him to leave her in Pepper and Jarvis' capable hands (metaphorical in Jarvis' case) whilst he assembled with the rest of the Avengers for whatever threat or disaster demanded their help.

Sometimes it meant fighting the newest brand of supervillain and foiling whatever evil plot they had concocted, other times it was diving into a natural disaster to help pull people out of the path of the hurricane, or volcanic eruption, or tsunami that was threatening them.

It could be great, being a hero and a father; being able to come home and brag to his little girl about how he and the team had saved people from whatever-the-threat-had-been. It could also be heart-breaking.

It was an attack later attributed to one Doctor Doom that really made it clear to Tony how emotionally compromised he was in certain situations. The man himself had vanished (they would later be told that the Fantastic Four had found and dealt with him) so the Avengers were left trying to help the emergency services to find the survivors buried under the rubble of what was once down-town Los Angeles.

Tony had been working with Thor, the God lifting the masonry out of the way to allow Ironman access to pull people out from the cavities and corners they had squeezed themselves into. Sadly, not everyone managed avoid the collapsing buildings and they dug out as many bodies as they did survivors.

They found a small corner shop that had been flattened. The shop-keeper and three customers had been killed instantly as the ceiling and two walls came down on them, bringing the two floors of apartments above down at the same time.

Thor shifted as much of the brickwork as he could to allow Ironman access into the dark interior of the broken room to hunt for both bodies and any soul still alive. The light from his arc reactor – magnified by the suit – dimly lit the area and allowed him to cautiously make his way deeper into the broken shell of the building.

Such a recovery process takes time, a lot of time. It required hours for the two to work their way through the shop and then the apartments that had once been above it. Hours of hard physical labour, and finding nothing but broken bodies that had once been people. It was a difficult and painful task.

When they finally realised that they would either need to rest or drop dead from exhaustion the pair slumped down on the remains of a McDonalds Golden Arch, surrounded by the rubble of the famous fast-food outlet.

Tony let the mask on his helmet lift up to pinch the bridge of his nose with a sigh, leaning over with his elbows on his knees. Beside him Thor looked just as bad; bruises, scratched armour and caked in dust. It had been a big ask: fighting a battle and then moving straight into the clean-up afterwards.

"Fuck, I need a drink." Tony broke the silence, removing his hand from his face to stare blankly out at the desolation around them. He expected Thor to respond in kind or to laugh at the quintessential Stark statement. However, the Aesir just nodded wearily in agreement.

A BigMac wrapper blew past them, the empty rustling catching Tony's listless gaze for a moment.

"There was a girl." His voice was hollow, mechanical. "She was so young. I saw her lying there and all I could think of was that that could have been Evie." A tremor, almost unnoticeable thanks to the suit, ran through him. "She was someone's child, someone's pride and joy. Gone. Just like that. If Doom had attacked Manhattan it could have just as easily been Evie and I can't _bear_ that thought."

"To lose a child is the worst pain there is; I can understand why the thought of it would fill you with fear." Thor said quietly.

"That sounds like the voice of experience…" Tony's voice held the hint of a question to it and he glanced sideways at the God.

"My nephews Narfi and Váli."

Ironman winced. He knew the stories that Norse mythology told of Loki's twin sons and if there was even the slightest bit of truth to them then they were horrendous. He had never once asked about his partner's other children, knowing full well that the tales weren't happy ones. It was also one of the reasons that he and Loki had kept Evelyn's parentage a secret from Thor; Asgard had not been kind to the trickster's offspring.

"What…what actually happened?" He asked quietly. "Our myths seem too cruel to be the truth."

Thor chuckled humourlessly. "Your mortal stories had all of the details, and yet managed to confound the entire fact of the situation." He stared down at his own folded hands, shaking his head. "But what is true is that my two nephews died under tragic circumstances and it broke my brother's heart." He glanced sideways at Tony. "I know that you must believe my brother to be insane, heartless even, but I can assure you that there was a time once when he was anything but."

The mortal nodded, more than used to pretending that the only Loki he knew was the psychotic, homicidal megalomaniac who had attacked the planet. It was rare that they ever spoke about the God of Mischief: Tony had banned the subject around Evie, using the argument that any mention of the trickster inevitably caused at least one of the Avengers to swear heavily and death threats to be thrown around. It was reasonable enough to say that he didn't want his little girl to be exposed to such language but in reality he was far more worried about Evie's reaction should she hear someone say something disparaging about her mother.

Thor had risen to his feet and for a moment Tony assumed that the God was ready to get back to work, until he spoke again.

"Your daughter, sometimes she reminds me of Narfi." He raised his hands quickly. "And I mean that with the greatest respect, I do not wish to infer any likeness between her and my brother, of course."

"Of course." Tony had to fight back the sudden flame of panic as the thunderer casually mentioned Evie and Loki in the same context.

"It is merely that at her age he had the same inquiring mind and spark that she contains. He had my brother's great intellect, much as Evelyn has yours, and he often used it to cause mischief. His father's son."

"Sounds like a great kid, minus the whole 'related to Loki' thing."

"Indeed."

"So…What happened?"

Thor glanced at him. "Why are you so keen to know?"

"Distraction. I'd rather like to focus on something else for a few minutes." Tony gestured out at the shell of the McDonald's they sat outside of. "So, correct my knowledge of Norse mythology."

The God looked away again, his expression distant as he stared across the rubble-strewn carpark. For a long moment Ironman assumed that his request would be denied. After all; as far as Thor knew the man was only asking out of curiosity, and had no way of knowing that Tony was actually approaching the conversation from a more compassionate role.

Finally the thunder God nodded slowly. He remained on his feet as he began to speak – the tone of his voice letting his companion know just how difficult this was for him to talk about.

The conversations that arise when the mind is exhausted and has spent the day amongst nothing but blood and death. Secrets spill in such conversations.

The story began with familiar nods to the myth that Tony knew. Loki had been married – an arranged marriage – to a woman named Sigyn. They didn't love each other, infact they'd barely tolerated each other, but for the sake of the treaty their marriage had sealed, an heir was needed. It had been Sigyn's idea for Loki to put the both of them under a lust spell for the evening, enough that they could forget the mutual dislike and hopefully beget a child.

It worked. More than enough in fact, since Sigyn carried and birthed twin boys, Narfi and Váli. For all that the husband and wife couldn't get along, they doted on their children, indulging every wish and whim.

Since when had things ever been easy though? Loki's life was never gentle.

Narfi was – as Thor had pointed out – very similar to Evelyn. He was a normal Aesir youngling, without any of his father's magic, but inheriting all of the best of his wit and mischief. Váli on the other hand was a fey child. He had all of the power that Narfi had been left without, but despite Loki's best efforts refused any and all attempts to teach him to use or at the very least control it.

Things came to their inevitable conclusion when the twins were barely adults. The mythology of the story had been twisted by humans, but the key players and events were still same.

The two boys had an argument. No one ever found out what the cause was – by the end of it there was no way of ever knowing. However, the one thing that _was_ known was how volatile Váli's temper was and how Narfi always rose to the bait.

Loki was summoned from a council meeting to find the eldest twin transformed into a rabid wolf, as large as a cart horse and looming over Narfi's prone body. The ensuing fight was short but brutal.

The God of mischief could never bring himself to use lethal force against his son, whereas Váli's mind was so far gone that he had no way of knowing that he was attempting to kill his own father.

It was Thor who did what had to be done, using his mighty strength to smash Mjolnir into the side of Váli's skull. The young magic user had been shifting forms throughout his confrontation with his father and the final blow laid him out dead, still in the body of a giant serpent. Loki was found comatose and near death underneath the reptile's body, acidic saliva and blood having burnt into his exposed arms and face. Narfi's lifeless body lay sprawled over him, effectively pinning him to the ground.

Tony winced as he realised how much the mythology had been skewed around those few details. As with all things, history had been changed in the telling to shine a light on one group and darkness on another. Such a thing had never really bothered him before, but then again it had never been so personal before.

"That's terrible." He said after a while, realising that Thor was expecting a reply from him.

"It was a dark moment in our family's past, and took a long time to heal."

"How the hell could you ever expect Loki to heal from something like that?! He lost two kids!"

Thor looked at the man in astonishment. "Do not tell me you are feeling sympathetic for my brother, Tony? At the time, of course, we did all we could for him. The physical wounds healed in the end, but I fear it may have been the mental scars that caused the true damage. Still, a tragic past does not give him the right to lay all his pain into another world."

"No…No, of course not." Tony was having to concentrate hard to keep up his masquerade of someone who hated the trickster, whilst all his treacherous mind could do was remember the Look of love and devotion on Loki's face every-time he saw Evie. No doubt the mischief-maker had loved his sons just as deeply and for them to both die in such a way…

"Tony? Are you okay?"

He jumped and glanced back up at the thunder God. "Huh? Oh, yeah. It's harder to stay emotionally distanced from a story like that when you have a kid." He ran a gauntleted hand across his face. "And to think I thought I had problems." Slowly easing himself to his feet he turned his gaze back to the wreckage before them. "Ready to go pull some more buildings apart."

Thor frowned at him. "We have barely sat down for five minutes, you need to rest."

"I don't think I'd be able to now, not after hearing that." He took a few steps away from the impromptu seat, feeling his legs protesting. However, he couldn't get the mental images that the story had conjured up out of his head. Of Loki lying almost dead beneath his son's body, nearly destroyed by his other child. He'd rather exhaust himself than let his mind focus on that.

Thor followed the man with a frown as they waded back out through the rubble and into the ruined city.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Clint was babysitting.

That was a joke in and of itself. He should have been out there with the others taking on Doom and rescuing people from the ensuing chaos.

Not stuck back in the tower with a badly sprained ankle and a small girl doing her homework.

"Uncle Clint, how do you spell 'adventure'?" Evie was sitting at the table in the lounge, swinging her legs from the too-tall chair as she wrote.

"A-D-V-E-N-T-U-R-E." Barton didn't bother to take his eyes off his magazine, scanning the pages whilst not really reading anything. Ideally he would have liked to put the TV on and watch some crappy daytime show, but with Evie working it was unfair to distract her. What was she even doing anyway?

"What's Jarvis set as your homework then?"

"Write a story. It's got to have a beginning, a middle and an end, and he wants me to use time connectives."

Clint didn't have a clue what the hell a 'time connective' was, but assumed that since the child hadn't asked for help then she knew what she was doing.

There was a time when Tony wouldn't have dreamed of asking the archer to look after Evelyn. Nor Thor for that matter. Up until the girl was nearly two years old the inventor had been highly paranoid that somehow the secret of her heritage would come out and he did his best to avoid any and all people who he deemed to know Loki well enough to recognise the trickster's child.

What Stark only took into account later on was that no _expected_ Evie to have a connection to Loki. Sure, she had his green eyes, but it was hardly an unusual colour and in all honesty it was ridiculously unlikely for anyone to ever look at her and make the link. Maybe if Thor had known that his brother had been spending the nights with Ironman then it might have been more probable for the thunder God to find the child's eyes familiar. However, since to all intents and purposes Loki had not been seen for ten years or so why would their thoughts turn to him as Evie's mother?

It took Tony longer than he wanted to admit to realise this and decide he was being severely paranoid. Even Pepper, who _had_ seen him with the trickster hadn't thought to make a connection – after all, Loki was male, and mothers are female.

So Barton was now allowed to babysit, never knowing that he had nearly been cut out of the child's life completely.

"Uncle Clint, can you read this please?"

The assassin looked up to see Evie holding out her work-book, an earnest expression on her face.

"Read it?"

"Yes. Jarvis says it is always best to have someone else read your work because they spot mistakes that you haven't."

Clint reached out and accepted the book with a world-weary sigh. "Smart guy, that Jarvis." He scanned the two pages that the child had written.

At the age of six – or as she liked to say, nearly seven – Evelyn's handwriting was now readable and fairly neat. Her spellings were also quite passable, but Clint had to smile as he spotted the obvious weak-spot in her literacy.

"Let me read the beginning back to you and see if you can spot what's missing." He said teasingly. When she nodded he took a deep breath. "Once upon a time there was a unicorn and the unicorn was called Ben and he lived in a big cave and one day he wanted to explore so he left the cave and went into the forest and then he met a witch and she was called Anna and he said hello would you like to explore with me and she said yes please." The archer had to run the last few words together as he ran out of air and Evie started laughing. "So, what did you forget?"

"Full stops and capital letters."

"Exactly." He handed the book back. "It's a good story though. I'd like to know what happens, as long as I can read it without dying from lack of air. And the spelling wasn't too bad either. Watch out for 'e' on the end of words, though, and capital letters for the start of names."

Evie nodded eagerly, already scribbling down corrections. "You should be a teacher, uncle Clint." She said, almost without thinking about it.

"Me? What on earth would I teach?"

She shrugged as if to say that that wasn't her problem. "I don't know. Bow and arrows? Someone has to teach how to use a bow and arrows."

"I guess, but I'm an Avenger, I can't really have a day job."

The girl nodded and scribbled a few more things down in her book. "It's my birthday soon!"

Clint blinked at the abrupt subject change. Children just couldn't hold a train of thought!

"I know, four days to go." He smiled as her face lit up at the thought. "You really do look forward to your birthday."

"And Christmas! They're the best days because I get to-"

"Miss Evelyn, how is your assignment going?" Jarvis' voice cut in smoothly across the girl's chatter and she abruptly stopped, her mouth snapping shut. Clint frowned at the look of sudden concern crossing her face, as if Jarvis had reprimanded her for more than just stopping in her work.

"Give her a break Jarvis, she's doing well. What were you about to say, Evie? They're the best days because you get to…?"

"Uh…I get to open presents." She cast a nervous glance at the ceiling. "I'm finished, Jarvis, look." She held her book up.

"Very good, Miss Evie. Since your work is complete you may go and play."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Thanks Jarvis." She grinned brightly at Barton. "Want to play Mario-cart, uncle Clint?"

"I'll just watch, thanks." The archer was all too aware that the child could beat him hands down at pretty much any video game invented (or so they supposed, it wasn't as if they'd let a six year old near something like Call of Duty, but anything with a PG or lower rating was fair game). Since Tony was the only one able to hold his own against her it was generally considered that genetics had played a large part in this particular talent.

"Will Daddy be coming home soon?" Evie had put the disc in and was waiting for it to finish loading.

"Another hour or so, I'd guess."

"Good."

MWMWMWMWMMWWMMWWM

It was, infact, closer to three hours.

By the time the rest of the group limped in Clint had already given in and ordered out for Indian take-away. Evie was half-way through her butter-chicken, but abandoned it to jump up and run to the large patio windows and watch the machinery strip away the Ironman suit. She knew better than to run out to greet her father – if nothing else it was _cold_ out there – but waited until he was inside to hug him.

"Hey, kiddo. Ooh, Indian! What did you guys order me?"

"Biryani and keema naan." Clint answered the question, dishing out the food to the group. "Jarvis tried to persuade me to get you a salad, but your daughter was quite certain you'd rip his circuit boards out and gut me if I did."

Tony laughed and ruffled the child's hair as she continued eating. "That's my girl!"

"Well, you would have done." She said, matter-of-factly. Sadly, it was very probably true. "Daddy, I'm full, can I have pudding now?"

Tony looked down at the un-touched rice and the onion Evie had discarded from the curry. "How can you want pudding if you're full?" Without waiting for a reply he sectioned off a small portion of rice. "Eat that, then we'll see."

A scene re-enacted in most families around the world as the child whined and grumbled and finally ate a few more mouthfuls.

Deceptively normal.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

The day before Evelyn's seventh birthday started off just like any other.

She was over-excited as always, waking Tony up early to ask what time Loki would be arriving and then sulking when being told that it wasn't going to be until the evening. Beyond that things continued on as normal and after her morning maths lesson the girl settled down to play a game in the lounge.

Tony had brought his laptop up from the lab, something that usually happened when he was only working on the theoretical side of things, and took up the entirety of one of the sofas. He was studying readings taken from the remnants of the chitauri weapon and trying to condense it all into a better format for working with. Usually he wouldn't risk letting the others see that he was looking into chitauri technology, but with Bruce away he knew comfortably that no one else would understand the data on his screen.

Along with Bruce being away, Steve had also gone out for the day, so that when the rest of the group migrated to the living room they had a seat each for once. This saved the usual squabble over who had to sit on the floor.

Evie grew bored with her game soon enough, and after a heavy debate it was decided that Bed knobs and Broomsticks was an agreeable film and that the rest of the adults would deign to suffer through it. (Perish the thought that each of them secretly loved the final battle scene).

The first sign they had of anything unusual happening was when the TV screen flickered. Being Stark technology a fault was unheard of so caused Tony to stare at it in confusion, his brow furrowing when the same anomaly happened again and Evie began to pipe up complaints that she couldn't see her film.

"Is the disc scratched?" Clint glanced up from his magazine to watch Ironman using his Stark-tablet to run a diagnostic check on the machine.

"It's not a disc, it's saved into the TV memory." Tony shook the tablet when it told him that nothing was wrong and stared at the blinking screen again.

Then the main lights flickered.

"Thor, are you causing an electrical surge again?"

The thunder God stared up at the bulbs, shaking his head. "Nay, this isn't my work. There's no storm in the air."

Heads all turned back to Tony, the resident genius and only one who had a hope of diagnosing what was going on. He shrugged slightly.

"Maybe the arc-reactor is faulty…" His voice said it all. The arc-reactor was flawless; there was simply no way that it could cause a problem. This was seconded by Natasha as she held up the device she'd been using.

"My Kindle's stopped working, and that runs off battery power. Something's going on here."

"Jarvis? Any idea what's causing this?" Tony wasn't concerned. After all, why should he be? Surely there were numerous simple explanations for why the technology in the tower was playing up. He rubbed his chest at that thought – but so far his own reactor seemed fine.

"I'm sorry sir, there…appea…pow…urge….unusu….don't…" Jarvis' voice died.

"Daddy…?" Evie looked uncertain as the TV failed completely and on the sofa Tony's tablet blacked-out, losing the data he'd been working on.

"Stark…?" Natasha sat herself upright, muscles poised as she tried to ascertain whether a threat was brewing or not. The others in the room were subconsciously copying her, placing down books and pens as they looked around for the cause of the anomaly. Even Pepper had put her coffee down and was watching Tony nervously as if he had an explanation.

Then the room exploded.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Furniture was flung outwards from the epicentre, the air filled with broken glass and shards of metal.

Tony was thrown across the living space, crashing through the glass-topped coffee table and colliding hard with the bar. His head exploded with pain as the back of his skull impacted against the mahogany veneer and for a worryingly long moment it caused his vision to black-in completely. He could hear screams amidst the crashing and shrieking of metal-on-metal and through it all his world concentrated down to one little thought;

Find Evelyn.

It was far harder than it should have been, but sheer force of bull-headedness made him open his eyes against the unconsciousness and pain that was trying to pull him under. His vision was _swimming_ and the mere act had him fighting his own body not to give in to the sudden nausea. Somewhere in the back of his mind a little voice suggested that he probably had a severe concussion.

He didn't care. Scrubbing a bruised and bleeding hand across his eyes he tried to survey the damage and see what the _hell_ had just happened.

_Complacency._

That had been their down-fall; they had grown complacent.

The Avenger's had had ten years to grow used to Stark Tower. Ten years of it being their bolt-hole and safe place where they had never needed to be concerned of attack or needed to be on edge. And they had complied when Tony requested that there were no weapons around Evie. They had stopped carrying the bulk of their armoury with them, confident in their security and trying to set an example for a small child.

Complacency.

Tony managed to clear the bursts of light and pain from his swimming vision long enough to make out the figures that had appeared in the room

_Chitauri._

The explosion was evidently a side-effect of whatever teleportation they had used and it had had the added bonus that no-one in the room had been prepared for it.

There were about twelve of the creatures, each armed and already spread out across the room; they had obviously been prepared for the mayhem their arrival would cause and had planned to use it to their advantage. Natasha was sprawled under an upturned sofa, blood running down the side of her face and her legs trapped at an awkward angle under the heavy piece of furniture. Nearby Clint was pinned by a chitauri spear through his arm, holding him down to the floor.

Tony's sluggish gaze took in the rest of the scene like a bad slow-mo effect in a movie. He could see Pepper dazed and terrified as another chitauri forced her to stay on her knees, a spear held to the back of her head. Thor was the only one out of the group who was unscathed enough to struggle, but three of the warriors were holding him down, a lethal looking dagger slammed through the palm of his hand and a blade held under his throat to force him still.

This was, however, only background to Tony's frantic mind as he stared around, trying to pull himself upright.

_Where's Evie?!_

A chitauri hand – hand? Mandible? _Thing_? – grabbed his shoulder, hauling him out of the wreckage and throwing him onto his stomach, making him acutely aware of the other injuries he must have incurred in the original blast, but that had been down-played under his thumping headache. Before he could try to raise himself up he was pulled to his knees by his hair, the sudden up-right motion and added pain to his head almost causing him to black-out again.

"Daddy!"

Evie's petrified sob cleared his head better than any ice-pack or whisky ever could and he blinked enough to clear his vision.

"Evelyn!"

His daughter, his precious little daughter was being held between two of the chitauri, an ugly dagger pressed hard against her throat. There were scratches down her face from the blast and she was sobbing, so scared that she wasn't even daring to struggle.

"Let her go!"

No. Jesus Christ _no_! How could this have happened?! They had been so _careful_!

Tony had never felt so helpless in his life. To see his daughter held by those _monsters_ and knowing that he was useless. He couldn't even use the suit – not with Jarvis shorted-out.

His demand sounded pathetic to his ringing ears, and was duly ignored. Instead one of the aliens snarled at the three holding Thor down.

"Keep that whelp still! We don't want him interfering!" The voice spoke in English, but was so scratched and roughened that it sounded like it was trying to vocalise through a throat-full of gravel.

"What do you want?!" Natasha was struggling where she lay trapped under the sofa – it looked like she had a broken ankle. Her efforts were rewarded with the butt of a spear thumping into her shoulder.

"From you insects? Nothing." The chitauri that seemed to be the one in charge stalked over to Evie, grabbing the child's chin in one hand. "We're waiting on someone else. I doubt he'll be long."

The little girl stared up at it with the expression of a child realising that nightmares are very much real. She seemed too petrified to even cry, frozen as the blade dug into her throat.

"_Release her!"_

Tony started, his eyes darting to the origin of the voice, unable to move his head against the grip in his hair.

Of course.

What else would the chitauri want? Why else would they be here if not for _him_?

"Brother…" Thor's voice, broken and pain-filled, still contrived to sound accusing and it occurred to Tony that there was no reason for any of the others _not_ to assume that the chitauri had a partner in this.

The alien in charge let go of Evie's chin, turning to face the new-comer.

"So there you are, Godling."

Loki wasn't dressed for battle. On the contrary he was barefoot in black cargoes and a simple button-up shirt. His only concession to a fight was that he held a staff – not his sceptre – in his hands. No magic.

He must have realised that before he'd even arrived – known that the chitauri would have perfected whatever technology they used to block out his powers. He had appeared in the full knowledge that once there he couldn't leave.

This did not mean, however, that he wasn't prepared to fight.

The God's staff spun in his hands as he lunged at the nearest chitauri, knocking it off balance before ramming the butt of the weapon into its head and cracking the exoskeleton. As an afterthought he caught the dagger thrown through the air at him, returning it so that it lodged in an alien eye-ball.

"_Möhdy!"_

Evie had begun to struggle, childish hope filling her now that Loki had appeared in the midst of it all.

The single word she cried out only made sense to Tony and Thor – causing the God to gape at his brother in horrified shock – but the tone of voice made it all too clear to the others that she knew and trusted their enemy. Natasha stilled as she stared between the child and trickster her eyes narrowed and Pepper just stared at Tony in horror.

Loki ignored each and every one of the adults in the room as he swept two more of the monsters out of his way using what appeared to be a combination of martial arts and British quarter-staff technique. His attention was focussed only on his daughter as he tried to reach her.

"Behind you!" Tony took a hard blow to his stomach for shouting the warning, but it was worth it as Loki ducked the swinging spear that he other-wise wouldn't have seen. The God spun on one bare foot, meeting the next blow square on his staff and throwing it backwards to give himself space to work in. He followed up the move with a sharp slash at the chitauri's legs, felling the monster.

"Drop the weapon, trickster." The voice was less than concerned, almost amused, and Loki twisted round to face it with a snarl.

The leader of the attacking group was standing next to Evie, the dagger pressed hard enough into the girl's throat to draw blood. The child was holding her breath, eyes wide and tear-filled as she stared pleadingly at her mother.

"M…Möhdy…" Her terrified sob was cut off by a hard slap across the back of her head.

"Let her _go_!" Loki had never looked more dangerous. Tony watched him like a drowning man spotting a life-raft, praying that the trickster had a plan, some terribly clever idea that would sort the whole mess out.

Something with which to defeat these monsters.

"Are you scared, little Godling?" The chitauri held up a lock of Evie's hair tauntingly, pulling it enough to drag the child's head back at a painful angle. "I believe you are. Ah!" It tilted it's own head in warning as Loki stepped towards them. "No. Don't move. Or this will get even messier. Humans bleed so much. Even little half-breeds like this one."

"Don't!" The trickster's voice was frantic as more blood ran down his daughter's throat. His voice was echoed by Tony's, although once again the inventor was ignored.

"Don't? Or what, weakling? What will you do?"

Loki didn't break eye-contact with Evie as he whispered: "Anything."

"Then drop your weapon, you pathetic wretch, or be aware that the punishment made for you can easily be meted out on her instead."

_You think you know pain? We will make you long for something sweeter…_

Tony knew what Loki had been threatened with. It had been enough of a fear that the trickster had given up his own daughter and spent the better part of a decade on the run rather than be caught and subjected to the chitauri's tender mercies.

And yet with Evelyn's life threatened, Loki didn't hesitate. When he'd said he'd do anything to keep her safe he had meant each and every word of the promise, and now intended to keep it.

"No!" The word was involuntary, pure and utter shock, as Tony watched his lover let the staff slip from his fingers. It bounced once as it hit the floor, then rolled to a stop by the man's knees. "Loki!"

"Now," Loki's voice was shaking, perhaps in rage, perhaps in fear. "Release her-" His demand was cut off as the leader flicked out one of the dreaded whips and the tail lashed itself tightly around his neck, bringing him choking to his knees.

"No!"

"Möhdy!"

Tony's and Evie's screams were almost in sync as the trickster was hauled up by two of the least wounded chitauri. The leader made a strange crackling sound – the closest approximation to laughter the alien larynxes could muster – running one claw down Loki's cheek before drawing back and smacking the God hard enough around the face to leave him limp and dazed in his captors grip.

"We, the chitauri, don't break deals, but we will pass the sternest of our sentences upon those who do!" It snarled, gesturing at the two holding Evie. "Release the girl."

The child was thrown forwards and she stumbled into Tony's arms as the grip on his hair was released. She was sobbing so hard that it was boarder-line hyperventilation and all her father could do was hold her as tight as possible, hardly daring to believe that she was back in his embrace.

His gaze, however, never left Loki's face, taking in every emotion; the panic, the terror, and the pure relief that Evie was alright, making his surrender worth it.

"I'll find you!" Tony had to shout to be heard as the chitauri began to activate whatever device it was they used for travel and prepared to leave with their long-sought-after prisoner. He knew his lover had caught the words though from the expression in the terrified green eyes.

"I swear, whatever it takes _I will find you_!"

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**Uh oh…**

**What will their reactions be? Are they all alright? What will Steve and Bruce say when they get home? Is Fury going to be furious?**

**And will poor old Loki be okay?**

**Tune in next time :) **


	8. Chapter 8

**I love you all so much! The reviews! The faves! The follows! It all means so much to me, so thank you guys.**

**Here we see the aftermath of what happened…**

With his head spinning and horror thumping through his veins Tony pulled Evie behind himself, his fingers closing over the smooth wood of the staff that Loki had dropped. It wasn't a weapon he was familiar with using but right now any port was welcome in a storm. He could see that Thor was already struggling to his feet and a sudden panic swept through him.

They _knew_!

This thought helped force him up to his own feet, one arm holding his daughter back so that he was shielding her with his own body and the other holding Loki's staff out in a defensive position.

"Stark…"

"Stay back!" He swung it clumsily in Thor's direction as the God took a wavering step towards him. His vision was blurred and legs unsteady but by damn he was not going to let them anywhere near Evie!

"Stark…Tony, you are bleeding." Thor took another step forward, stopping again as the staff followed his movement. He raised both hands placatingly at Tony's angry snarl.

The man was an absolute wreck, whether he had realised it or not. Blood was dripping down the back of his neck from the cut hidden by his hair and more was smeared around the numerous lacerations caused by the flying glass. And yet, despite a severe concussion and possible broken ribs he stood on unsteady feet holding a weapon he didn't know how to use and all because he believed that his friends would harm his daughter.

"Tony, you need medical aid." The God tried again, his voice softer than usual and more calming.

"No! Stay _back_!" Tony swung the staff again hopelessly, and Thor caught the end of it, pulling it out of the man's grip and tossing it aside. "No!" The protest became more frantic as Ironman twisted his body to fully shield Evie where she stood clinging to his leg and sobbing.

"Listen to me!" Thor caught the weak punch aimed unsteadily at his head and held the wrist in a firm grip, more to keep Tony upright than anything else. "Tony! You are injured, your daughter is _not_ in any danger now and you need to _calm down_." The human's wild gaze finally met the God's and a little of the panic fell away to a calmer suspicion.

"But-"

"The priority right now is to make sure everyone is okay, all discussions and explanations can wait."

"But-"

"It can _wait._ Evie is safe for now and you are badly injured; you are in no position for a fight. I will make sure no-one demands explanations until you are able to stand on your feet without swaying. Do you understand?" Thor's grip on Tony's wrist loosened and he moved his hands to rest on the man's shoulders instead. "_Do you understand_?"

Tony was in a considerable amount of pain, terrified for his daughter and badly concussed, but he was still able to see the determined expression in the thunder-god's eyes; Thor was trying to tell him that Evie's parentage could remain hidden for a little while longer – long enough for Tony to receive the medical treatment he needed.

"I…Yeah…yeah, I get you. Thank you." He rested a hand soothingly on his daughter's head as he felt her sob again against his leg. "Why?"

"Because I look after family." Thor's gaze darted down to the crying child, trying to find the similarities he now knew to look for. "I don't pretend to know or understand what has happened here, but I will keep the attention away from you until you are more able to stand upright."

Tony had to smile at that, just before his knees gave out.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

It took a long time to sort out the injuries sustained in the surprise attack – if it could even be called an attack.

A fail-safe had been in-place for years that meant should there be a power-failure to the tower each and every Avenger would be alerted. This meant that Steve, Bruce and Fury were all at the tower in double quick time.

They knew better than to ask questions straight away – rather, concentrating on fixing up the injuries of their comrades.

Natasha had a broken ankle and sprained wrist, but since the break was only a hairline fracture she let Bruce splint it and wrap her arm then immediately hobbled back to the lounge to help start on the tidy-up. Knowing Natasha it was probably a coping mechanism to the shock she was undoubtedly in, but no-one stopped her on the grounds that what a severely shaken assassin wants to do a severely shaken assassin gets to do.

Clint was less easy to deal with. His left arm had been impaled through-and-through, only narrowly missing the bone. Luckily the blade had been left in the wound which had stopped him from bleeding out before Bruce could deal with it and the doctor had time to save the limb. It did mean, however, that Clint had to be put under some very high-end painkillers and was therefore less than clear about what was going on around him.

Pepper was easy to clean up – Steve insisted that he be the one to make sure she was alright – since beyond scratches caused by the flying glass she was unharmed, and Captain America did a lot of good for a bad case of shock.

It came as a surprise to Tony that Nick Fury knew anything about first-aid. If asked he would have said that the director could manage putting a plaster on a paper-cut and little more. He hadn't ever realised that Fury had been fully trained as an army medic.

However, training or not, it was difficult to treat Tony when he had a lapful of hysterical seven-year-old.

Something that Tony _did_ know about Nick Fury was that the guy was surprisingly good with kids. There's nothing a young child likes more than to be made to feel older than they actually are, and Fury could do just that; in this case by calling Evie a nurse and having her help him patch her father up.

Tony had a cut at the base of his skull where he'd hit the bar which thankfully didn't require stitches, but was definitely the cause of his swimming vision and nausea. Yeah, concussion from hell. On top of that he had fractured ribs and more lacerations than he wanted to count. Bless her, Evie sorted these out with Hello Kitty plasters.

The child was shivering, and the moment Fury gave him the all-clear, Tony scooped her straight back up in his arms, hugging her tightly. He sorted out her cuts and bruises himself, his hands shaking with silent rage as he gently bandaged the cut running along her throat.

"Daddy…"

"It's going to be okay." He already knew what she was going to say, and tried to alleviate her fears sooner rather than later.

"But, Möhdy…But…" Evie began sobbing again

"It's going to be okay, little bird, we're going to get him back." Tony hated how his own voice caught as he said it. How the hell was he ever going to get Loki back?! It wasn't like the chitauri lived on the moon; they were from another universe! Even if he _could_ somehow magically trace them there was still no way to get there. But he couldn't tell their daughter that; couldn't tell her that in all truthfulness he didn't have a clue how to make good on the promise he'd screamed out as the trickster had been hauled away.

"He'll miss my birthday…"

"I know, I'm sorry." It was all he could say. Nothing was going to fix this, nothing was going to bring back Loki, so all he could do was hold Evelyn close and try to tell her that everything was going to be okay when in truth it felt like the world was falling down around them. "It's all going to be alright, little bird, it's all okay."

It wasn't.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMW

It was much later that evening – so late that 'evening' didn't really apply any more – that the Avengers were finally sat down together to discuss what the hell had just happened.

They didn't have an official debriefing room in the tower so had usually used the lounge as such. With the room a complete bombsite they had improvised and utilised the home-cinema and it's ridiculously comfortable chairs. Said chairs weren't fixed to the floor so they had dragged them into a rough circle, although Tony had refused to turn the lights up any higher than a dim glow due to his pounding head. In an ideal world they would all be asleep, but Fury had decreed that anything to do with the chitauri should be construed as an international threat and they needed to discuss if further action was to be taken.

It was first time Evie joined them in a debriefing, although not as a participant. It was well past her bedtime by this point, but she was far too upset to leave Tony's side, and there was no way her father was going to let her out of his sight anyway. The Avengers hadn't argued when Tony pulled two of the plush chairs together in the corner of the room and tucked her up in a bundle of blankets, giving her his Stark-player to listen to her favourite music to fall asleep to. He didn't leave her side until she was fast asleep, and even when going over to join the others he made sure he was sat where he could keep an eye on her.

Natasha started the whole thing off – sitting in an uncharacteristically lazy manner with her bandaged foot resting up on Clint's lap. She told the story with little embellishment, explaining what had happened with great detail but making sure she only covered what she considered to be important. She did, unfortunately, include Evie's strange familiarity with a certain Norse God.

The news that both the chitauri and Loki appeared to be back didn't go down well with Fury or Steve, and Bruce had gone pale. The Director sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead with his knuckles.

"Okay. Does anyone have a theory of what the hell happened? Or-" And here he levelled Stark with a penetrating stare. "Why did the chitauri decide Evelyn was more valuable than any of the superheroes in the room and why did Loki turn up and give himself up for her? Anyone? Any ideas?"

Tony deliberately looked away, but that just meant he was caught in Thor's line-of-sight instead. The God raised an eyebrow pointedly at him, making it quite clear that it was time to start talking. He responded with a small, pleading shake of the head. Usually he was the king of bull-shit and winging-it, but right now his brain was drawing a blank and there was just no _way_ he could talk himself out of this mess. He needed time to think, time to prepare a way of explaining himself that wouldn't result in them immediately killing him and taking Evie.

"Stark." Thor's voice brooked no disobedience as his gaze became a glare. "It's time to explain yourself and your words earlier."

"Words?" Fury looked between the blonde and the inventor in confusion. Natasha had missed out Tony's scream in her retelling – possibly she had been concentrating on the chitauri pinning her down in those last moments to have heard the man call out to Loki. Thor, however, had heard it all too well it seemed.

"You promised my brother that you would search for him, that you would find him." The God folded his arms like a poker-player laying down a royal flush. "I believe there is a lot you need to tell us."

"Thor, I…" Tony glanced over at his sleeping child hopelessly. This wasn't something he could hide. Thor already knew enough to guess the truth and if this was all going to come out it would probably be better if he did it himself rather than let the God throw half-baked theories around.

"Tony?" Pepper was watching him in concern, and he sighed heavily.

"Fine. You guys are going to kill me anyway when you find out; I might as well get it out in the open." He leant forward to rest his elbows on his knees, ribs protesting at the movement. "Evie is Loki's daughter."

There was a very long moment's silence. It was quite possible that that was the last thing any of them had ever expected to hear from him. Only Thor looked unsurprised and instead sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

"Stark. Please repeat what you just said, and pay attention to the words coming out of your mouth because I think I just heard some serious bullshit."

Tony winced. He had heard Fury in all manners of pissed off, but the icy coldness was a whole new level of ire.

"No, you got it right the first time. Evie is Loki's daughter." He glanced up as Clint shifted in his chair.

"_How_?!" The archer was sitting up straighter, looking more confused than angry, but that was probably due to the amount of painkillers he was on. "She looks like you – how can he be the dad?"

"He's not." Thor answered before Tony could, his gaze moving to the sleeping child who was blissfully unaware of what was being discussed. "She called my brother _Möhdy_, the Norse term for _mummy_."

The room exploded.

Again.

Thankfully only metaphorically this time.

The statement had caused the obvious burst of confusion, disgust and outrage as people questioned how the hell something like that could biologically happen, what the hell Tony was doing with Loki _anyway_ and everything else in between. Fury was on his feet and Pepper had that terrible look of betrayed trust on her face that always made Tony feel of less worth than a cockroach. However, the sheer overwhelming noise of insults and questions infuriated him.

"Right! All of you just _shut up_!" Tony Stark was not a tall man, especially when compared to Thor or Steve, but when angry he had the uncanny ability to seem much larger than he actually was – natural charisma or something probably at work. This time he used it to full effect as he yelled over the noise his team-mates were making.

"If you all just shut up for a few moments I'd be able to explain and then _maybe_ I'll have answered some of your questions!" He cast a wary glance at Evelyn, but the Stark-player headphones were noise-reducing and she hadn't woken.

However, his angry roar had caused a cessation in the argument, and Fury gestured at him with an open-handed sweep. "Go ahead then, Stark, please explain how the _hell_ you and our number one enemy happen to have a _child_ together!"

Tony slumped back down into his chair with a huff of irritation. "Enemy is probably the wrong description, you know." He glowered at the director. "He's been on Earth ever since he escaped Thor's custody, that's _ten years _and none of you knew. There wasn't so much as a _hint_ that he's been on our planet in a decade – what does that tell you?"

"That he's a sly manipulative bastard who's good at playing long-cons." Clint's answer lacked spite due to the heavy medication he was on, but he still sounded pissed off. He shrugged when Thor glared at him for his usage of bad language. "Pout all you want, big guy, your brother's a dick."

"He is _not_!" To their surprise the snarl came from Tony, not Thor. The inventor glared at Clint, then moved his gaze to take in the others. "Let me make one thing _quite_ clear here: all of you don't know _squat_ about Loki, including you, Pointbreak!" He shook his head slightly, wincing as it aggravated his headache. "And I'm quite sure that didn't make grammatical sense, but I still mean it; this is a situation that none of you have the first clue about and I will not have _any_ of you judging me, him and certainly not Evie until you at least know the fucking _facts_!"

"So _tell_ us the facts, Stark." Fury sat back in his chair, folding his arms as he met the man's irate gaze head on. He held up a hand as Steve tried to speak. "No. Everyone do as he says and shut up. Stark. Start talking."

Start talking.

Huh.

Now that he had a room of accusing glares that was suddenly a much harder thing to do. Where _did _it all start? Probably that moment he had offered Loki a drink, facing down the God without armour or weapons. They still jokingly referred to it as their first date.

No. A sudden stab of pain through his chest made him acutely aware that there was no 'their' anymore. No 'them' or 'both' or any other plural. Loki was gone.

"Tony?" Pepper was the one who prompted him, curled up in her chair like a cat as she stared at him with an expression that begged for an explanation. It was easier to direct the story to her rather than face the others.

"It was that day Thor told us Loki had escaped custody. I'd had a shit day anyway, and to hear that the guy who'd tried to destroy the city was on the loose didn't help." Tony kept his voice low, a subtle ploy that meant no-one could interrupt without missing what he was saying. "I did what I always did back then; I found a bar somewhere and attempted to get as drunk as humanly possible. Of course, just my luck that it was the same bar a certain God of mischief decided to drown himself in too.

"I remember practically nothing of that night, but Jarvis helpfully documented the evening for me. I woke up the next morning with the worst hangover of my life – which is seriously saying something! – and a hungover super-villain in bed with me." Tony raised a hand up at the barrage of comments that statement drew. "Hey, if you guys talk over me I'm not going to continue."

Fury sighed irritably and waved the interruptions down. "Let the man talk."

"Thank you." Stark _almost_ managed to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. "So, yeah. We woke up together in bed and it was obvious what had happened. He tried to blast me into oblivion, I think, but all that happened was a crappy fizzle so I ignored him and made Jarvis play us the security footage from that night. Turns out he'd enjoyed himself as much as me." He shrugged at the disgusted snort he heard from Clint. "Hey, if you think two guys having a bit of fun is icky, that's not my problem."

"Two guys isn't a problem, it's _Loki_ in that situation that's revolting." He rolled his eyes as Thor glared at him. "What? Don't tell me you aren't grossed out by the thought of your brother doing the dirty."

"I'm well aware that my brother is far more adventurous than I have ever been – at least this time he chose a creature with compatible anatomy."

"_Do you mind_!?" Tony practically spat the words out. He didn't necessarily care about the insult that had been insinuated there, but this was his best chance to tell the story before they could all form their own opinions on the matter. He didn't appreciate interruptions. "I am willing to explain this once, and only once. So either listen, or shut up and get the hell out!"

Clint raised his hands in mocking surrender, a dark scowl on his face. He did stop talking though.

"_Anyway_!" It was a very petulant tone of voice, but it got Stark's point across. "So. We'd had an accidental one-night-stand that looked like it had been bloody good fun and I was left rather wishing I hadn't been so drunk that I couldn't remember it. Seems he was thinking the same thing since I went back to the same bar the next night and he was there again. We both ended up only _slightly_ rat-arsed and came back here again. After that he just started turning up in my bedroom at random times."

"How long for?" Fury sounded like he was only barely keeping a lid on his temper whilst hearing that Shield's number one enemy had been cavorting around the Avenger's base so freely.

"That went on for about two years." Saying it quickly was like pulling off a plaster in one go – get it over with and hopefully the repercussions won't be as painful. Tony ignored the director incredulous gaze and continued ruthlessly. "After that things slowed down when we were caught. I won't say who walked in on us-" Everyone looked at Pepper anyway, who else would keep such a secret for Tony? "-but needless to say they made me stop seeing him. But hey! I'm Tony Stark! Once I've found a good lay I'm not going to say no if he keeps on turning up regardless, which he did. Well, up until he didn't. For about eight months."

There were surreptitious glances towards Evie – no surprise why Loki had vanished for such a specific amount of time.

"So he turned up with a baby one night?" Bruce's softly spoken question was a pleasant change from the accusations and harsh words the others had been throwing at him and Tony managed a small grin.

"Not exactly…" He directed the next part of the story at his fellow scientist. "Rather, I had the God of mischief turn up out of the blue after an unexplained eight month hiatus and tell me that he was pregnant."

"And what? That he was dumping the baby on you?" Clint was still sounding sour, but slightly more engaged in the tale by this point. At least he was paying attention.

Tony spent the better part of two hours talking. He explained about Loki's decision to give up the child to protect it, and his own choice in keeping it. The team were understandably shocked at the realisation their resident crazy-scientist had successfully acted as midwife at the birth of his own daughter and to the God of mischief no less.

He didn't hold back from telling them all the little things Loki had divulged to him either. At the time they had been told Loki had assumed that only Tony and maybe Evie would ever hear the confessions. However, anything Tony could use to his advantage to show the trickster in a better light, he used.

He had Jarvis play the clip where Loki had described the effect the fall through the void had had on his mind – Jarvis did a masterful job of cutting the frame since that particular conversation had been had whilst the God was in labour. However, the small declaration of the adverse mental effects (putting it mildly) and bad handling by the chitauri (putting it _very_ mildly) had Tony's audience both hooked and dismayed.

"They _tortured_ him?" Thor was predictably the one to give the name to what had happened, sounding as horrified as only a big brother can.

Tony snorted in reply. "What did you think? That a species you'd never heard of just gave him command over their army like that? You at least should know that he is fascinated by humanity – he'd never have willingly wanted to destroy it."

"Uh, _fascinated_ by humanity? Don't tell me he's the one behind all those alien-abduction-probing incidents." Clint was still the one putting forth all the smart-arse comments, but at least the disgust had left his tone.

Tony rubbed his hand over his eyes. He was exhausted, in pain, and just could not be bothered to explain this part.

"Jarvis, just play the footage, I can't remember his exact words. Follow it directly with his description of what the chitauri did."

"Sir, you were in rather compromising positions during both of those conversations."

"No we weren't. They were both pre and post-coital, as long as you don't play the porn that happened in between I'm sure these guys can cope." Were he feeling better he would have felt amusement at how sickened Steve looked.

"Very well. I shall monitor their reactions and edit accordingly."

"Whatever, Jarvis, just play the damn clips."

The large screen flickered to life – Tony cast a glance at Evie, but she was still sound asleep – and began running the footage from the previous Christmas. The camera angle was static but had filmed in superb quality that was more appropriate to cinema than security footage; Tony Stark did not stint when it came to technology.

The film was showing Tony himself sat on his bed, back against the headboard. Loki was straddling his lap, hands running through the man's hair as he stared at the inventor with a piercing expression.

"_Because. Because humanity is everything that we Gods can't be."_ The trickster leant forwards to rest his forehead against his partner's. _"For half a million years I have lived in Asgard and seen nothing change. Oh, we war and squabble and forge treaties with other realms, but we never move on, we never learn and we never grow as a people or culture. When I first saw humanity I was astounded! All you seem to do is change. Your very existence as a species is built upon growing and adapting, evolving, living every day with the knowledge that you may never see another. You learnt and discovered and built and created all based upon your mortality. Not just new thoughts but new ways of thinking. Humanity fashioned such things as have never been seen in Asgard in such brief life-times: skyscrapers, the internet, cathedrals, the Mona Lisa, the pyramids, the Great Wall of China! All this from a race of monkeys!"_ He stopped his rant with a deep sigh. _"I followed humanity because I realised that in truth you are more than we deities-"_ The word was almost spat. _"-Could ever be."_

The footage changed, this time zooming in much closer. It was immediately apparent that the close-up was due to Jarvis trying to hide the fact that the two men in the clip were both naked by focussing only on their shoulders and heads. They were talking quietly now, Loki explaining about his thoughts and motivations towards his brother during his brief and fateful reign of Asgard, and then of his intended suicide from the bifrost. His voice grew softer as he spoke of the damage that had occurred to his faculties as he fell and how by the time he reached the world of the chitauri his mind was nearly gone, broken into pieces so small that it would have been thought lost forever.

"_I don't remember everything that happened."_ He admitted quietly_. "But every memory I do still have is nothing but pain. My mind was almost gone, so they made sure to send it the rest of the way, breaking my body so many times that I couldn't even remember my own name."_ It was telling how much these memories still affected the God by the way his hand shook as he drew it through his hair. _"Towards the end I had no will left. Nothing mattered any more, all I could do was obey; lest the pain began again__."_

"_But you broke free in the end."_

Loki smiled at that comment, although this time there was a tinge of darkness to it.

"_The sceptre. It was intended to help control me – the wretched thing had a direct link into my brain so that the moment I began to stray from the agreed plan a bolt of pain would be sent through me as a reminder. I grew used to it enough not to show it after a while."_ The trickster said softly. _"But I was slowly regaining my sense of self, not just following the script they had laid out for me. That was how I had Selvig add the off switch into the machine, and hence why I abandoned the sceptre during the fight."_

"_You were trying to let us win."_

"_I was doing my damnedest to _help_ you win."…_

The clip stopped, leaving silence in its wake.

Tony was surprised to find that he was shivering. It had been harder than he'd thought to watch the poignant reminder of that conversation. Sure, what Loki was saying was a hard thing to listen to, but the inventor found that it was seeing the way they had been curled up together that was hurting so much. Whilst he was well aware of Loki's expressions when they looked at each other, he had never seen his own face when returning the God's gaze. They looked so happy together. They _were_ so happy together.

He realised that the rest of the group in the room were staring at him and shrugged listlessly. "Yeah. That's all I got." He seriously just didn't want to deal with this right now! "I've been seeing him for nearly ten years, we have a kid together and now he's _gone_ and I don't know how the hell I'm going to get through this!"

Oops. He hadn't intended to let his emotions out there too. Pepper was looking at him with this awful pitying expression and that helped turned the despair back to anger.

"What? Are none of you going to say anything?!"

"Why did you keep all this from us?" Fury was predictably the first to speak. "If you had all this so-called proof that Loki was less to blame than we thought why did you never try to tell us sooner and enlist our help?"

The glare Tony laid on him could only be described as withering. "Because I trust Shield as far as I can throw them and didn't want a single one of you buggers knowing that Evie isn't fully human." He spat. "I've seen the experiments that were done on Bruce; there was no way I'd risk that ever happening to my little girl."

The director scowled. "You think that we'd-"

"The council nuked Manhattan." Tony cut across him. "If they'd had their way every one of us would now be dead, perhaps excepting Thor. And God knows what more radiation would have done to the Hulk. But the facts remain that they nuked a city with the intent to kill _millions_. Forgive me if I assume that they'll take the view that research is important enough to warrant taking my daughter and using her as a lab-rat." He folded his arms. "Not happening. I don't trust Shield, Loki doesn't trust a single one of you; we weren't going to take the risk."

The reactions to such a statement were mixed at best.

Thor was, predictably, quite devastated that his own brother had filed him in the 'untrustworthy' category and Pepper seemed hurt that Tony had done the same to her. However, the main body of the Avengers seemed to at least understand where the father had been coming from, even if they believed his assumptions to be wrong.

"And what, precisely, are you planning to do now that we know the truth?" Fury's voice rang out across the hubbub as he met Tony's gaze head on. "How do you intend to protect Evelyn from the council now that you don't have your pet God to help?"

It was almost possible to feel the temperature in the room drop at that inflammatory question. Even Pepper could honestly say she had never seen her boss look at someone with such loathing and disdain.

"Believe me; I've planned long and hard for such an eventuality." Tony didn't raise his voice; he didn't shout or snap. He just spoke slowly and coldly as if every word was being etched into lead by the tone of his voice. "Should anything happen to either myself or Evie, no matter how mundane or accidental it seems, Jarvis is primed to destroy Shield." He smiled, a thin little expression that didn't really suit him. "I implanted Jarvis into the Shield servers years ago and he is integrated throughout the system. There's no point hunting for the programming, you'll never find him. Even if you strip the entire system down you won't get rid of him."

"And I presume you'll wipe our files?" Fury asked with equal venom.

"Where's the fun in that? I'll leave every single file, data point and spread-sheet intact. Jarvis will just take out your firewalls." He paused to let the implications sink in.

The immense bank of data Shield had collected over the years was an absolute gold-mine for experimental weapons, serums, chemicals, elements, anything and everything that – no matter the reasons for its collection – would be happily snapped up by every terrorist group and army on the planet. There was information on all of the mutants, all of the experiments on Bruce, data on each and every Avenger, names, addresses, contacts, research. It wasn't just the weapon capabilities that would be released; all of the Shield assassins would be unmasked, spies inside various governments and organisations, every type of person that they didn't want named would be broadcast to the world.

"That would destroy your own team, Stark." Fury said quietly.

"Take into account that this will _only_ happen should Shield touch Evie. If she's left alone, I won't unleash hell." Tony countered. "And if she's taken then I don't give a damn about the team, Shield, or anything else. I've spent a long time going over what the repercussions would be should I give Jarvis the signal and I'm not exaggerating when I say it could easily lead – eventually – to a world war."

"That's ridiculous!" Steve seemed shaken out of his stupor by the word 'war'.

"Hardly. Imagine the world's reaction when they see the sheer amount of information that Shield has been hiding – did you guys know they've got the cure for AIDS squirrelled away? – and has not been sharing. Do you really think that they'll stand for an American organisation holding all this? China? Russia? The Saudi's? Hell, even Britain would be up in arms."

Tony sat back in his chair, speaking flatly as if he genuinely didn't care that he was talking about single-handedly unleashing world war three.

"You wouldn't." It was the first time any of them beyond Clint had really heard fear in Natasha's voice.

"I would. I've just lost my partner; don't think that I wouldn't burn the world if it meant keeping my child safe."

"You sound like my brother." Thor said softly.

"Yeah, I probably do. See, he'd do anything to save his child too. Infact, he willingly gave himself up to the chitauri to save her, despite having run from them for ten _years_."

Pepper uncurled slightly in her chair, staring at Tony with an unreadable expression.

"You love him."

The three softly spoken words silenced any other comments people might have made and all heads turned towards the inventor.

"Yeah, I do." He didn't hesitate and didn't stammer. It was the first time he had ever verbally admitted to the emotion and it felt like a dam breaking inside. He loved Loki, and was only confessing it after losing him… "So I hope none of you are surprised that Stark Industries is about to embark on a Deep Space Voyager program, because I will do everything and anything to get him back." He gripped the arms of the chair and levered himself to his feet with a groan. "Now, I'm assuming all of you want to discuss whether or not you want to kill me or kick me off the team, so I'll leave you to it and put Evie to bed."

There was a barrage of comments at that, but he ignored them all and brushed past Steve who tried to grab his wrist. Evelyn was still fast asleep, and didn't stir as he carefully picked her up, glaring at both the Captain and Thor – who were out of their seats and still trying to ask questions – until they moved out of his way.

The six year old – well, seven really, it was gone midnight so it was technically her birthday – wasn't heavy, but Tony still took the elevator up to the family floor.

"Sir, are you okay?" Jarvis didn't have much of an emotional range, but could contrive to sound concerned.

"I built you to be a genius so I'll let you puzzle it out; do you think I'm okay given what's just happened?"

There was a moment's silence before the AI spoke again. "I'm sorry, sir. Is there anything I can do? Hot chocolate perhaps?"

Despite it all Tony had to smile. "Sometimes hot chocolate isn't the answer to everything, Jarvis." He glanced down at the bandages wrapped around Evie's throat – an eerie reminder of the wounds Loki had once turned up in his lab with. "But I won't say no to one."

"I suspected as much. I will assume that I needn't ask if you want whipped cream and marshmallows."

"Good assumption." The elevator stopped and Tony stepped through the open doors onto the landing. Evie's room was the nearest door and Jarvis helpfully opened it automatically so that Tony didn't have to try to shoulder it open without waking his daughter up.

The room was generally quite tidy – at the very least there weren't any pieces of Lego waiting to destroy his feet – and he tucked Evie up in bed. He decided to not turn off the Stark-Player that was still running after checking what it was playing (New World Symphony on repeat) and untangling the headphone wires so that she wouldn't roll over and tie them round her neck.

"Can you send one of the Scutters in with my pillow and duvet, Jarvis?"

"You're sleeping in here, sir?"

Tony sat down on the sofa that made up Evie's reading corner. "I'm not going to leave her alone tonight. I currently don't trust anyone or anything. Except for you, of course."

"Of course, thank you sir. I will send in Scutter Two directly. Do you wish for your tablet too? Your vital signs show that you are unlikely to fall asleep any time soon."

"Yeah. Sounds good." He looked up at the soft lights that lit the small corner with a small smile.

Strings of stars hung from the ceiling, twinkling gently as they turned on invisible threads. They had never gone out since the day Loki had given them to Evie as her first Christmas present and she had refused to ever put on real lights when she could use the magically created ones.

He was distracted by the whirring of the door opening and the little house-hold robot, Scutter Two, entered dragging his duvet and pillow behind itself and carrying his tablet and a mug of chocolate on its flat body.

Wrapping the thick quilt around his shoulders and settling the pillow so that he could sprawl out on the sofa comfortably the man turned his tablet on. Without bothering with the usual email checks he instead opened up one of his private experimental folders and scanned it quickly to ascertain how complete it was.

"Jarvis; I want you to initiate this program and start integrating yourself into my spare suit."

"Sir, the programming is still incomplete."

"So complete it." Tony scrolled through the document then closed it again. "I only insisted on doing it myself as something to do; now it just needs finishing. I want you to be able to fully command and operate an empty suit incase there's another home-invasion and I can't get into one."

"I see. I will finish the basic programming, then, and allow you to add what you want to it at a later time."

"Thanks." The man continued to flick through various programs, too distracted to truly focus on anything. He sipped at the chocolate, but for once the sweet drink sat heavy in his stomach and he put the mug back down without finishing it.

"Sir."

"Hmm?"

"There is a message for you on the servers that I was instructed to play."

"Message? Who's it from?"

"Loki, sir." Jarvis waited for a few moments, but when there was no comment he continued. "He filmed it the night of Miss Evelyn's fifth birthday and asked that I should show you upon the eventuality of the chitauri catching him."

"Oh…"

"Should I play it, sir?"

Tony tried to reply, but found his throat curiously dried up. Instead he nodded, relying on the security cameras to catch the movement. His tablet pinged and opened up a video file that began to play automatically.

The small screen showed Loki sat at Tony's desk, facing the camera (Tony guessed he had used the webcam on the laptop that lived on said desk). He had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders that made the man suppose he was probably not wearing all that much underneath it.

"_Hi Tony_." The trickster's smile was soft, fond even. "_I know that if you're watching this then Jarvis has been good to his word and done as he promised. This was his idea, infact." _ He folded his hands in his lap, sitting up straighter and his expression turning serious. "_I also know that if you're watching this then the chitauri have won, and they have me._

"_I desperately hope that that never comes to pass and that you won't ever see this, but since it is a possibility I feel that I should make plans for the eventuality."_ He closed his eyes with a sigh. "_Tony, I know this will be hard for you, but can you promise not to try and find me? Our little bird will need you; you have done a phenomenal job of raising her, and I can never thank you enough for insisting that I have a part in her life. However, if I am taken by the chitauri she will need you to be there for her._

"_So don't look for me. She deserves every iota of love and devotion, every second of your time and I don't want you to waste a moment by searching fruitlessly for me." _The trickster's posture changed as he drew his one leg up to his chest, arms folded over his knee. "_I know that you will want to argue and fight this promise, but I have my reasons and knowing that Evelyn is safe and happy will give me the strength to face whatever the chitauri wish to do to me." _He glanced away, seeming to collect his thoughts. "_I can't say I'm not afraid – I've been running for nearly ten years; I'm very afraid – but I want Evie safe, and I want you safe. I'll do anything to keep you both from harm."_ With a deep sigh he turned back to face the camera.

"_There are three little words that we've both been too afraid to ever say, either of us. We've spoken of 'sentiment' but never called it what it is and if you're watching this then I've still not said it, and for that I can never forgive myself."_ He smiled then, sad and hopeless. "_It's taken me half a million years to find someone I want to express this to whilst truly meaning it, but I love you, Tony. You've tried to blow me up, I threw you out a window, we've fought and argued and hated and somewhere along the line I fell in love with you." _The God raised his hand, leaning forwards so that his palm appeared to be pressed against the screen, trying to reach out. "_So please, don't search for me. You are mortal. You won't live forever and I want to die knowing that you will have lived out a long and happy life continuing to be an amazing parent to our daughter. I don't want you to waste the years you have on a useless search. Live, love and be amazing." _He smiled again, brokenly. "_This is farewell, Tony Stark. Tell Evelyn that I love her and take care of yourself. I love you."_

The recording ended.

Tony realised that he had placed his hand on the screen, covering Loki's palm with his own as if they were looking at each other through a window. The image had frozen and he almost subconsciously traced his finger down his partner's cheek; following the path that tears had run.

"God, Loki…"

"Sir, Loki wished me to inform you that if it will be of any help he is willing for you to show this to the rest of the team."

"I…What? The team?" Tony tried to unscramble his emotions enough to formulate a reply. Would this be any use? Well, it would show them the side of the trickster that they obviously didn't believe existed, despite the other footage he'd given them.

To be honest he just didn't care by this point.

"Are they all still in the cinema?" 

"They are, sir."

"Show them."

"Yes sir."

Tony pulled his duvet up around his shoulders, staring at the tablet screen even though his sight was quickly blinded. He wasn't a man who cried, as a rule, but there were always exceptional circumstances. Having to see his daughter terrified and hurt whilst he could do nothing, and then losing the man he loved in a bid to save her was enough to make anybody give in to tears.

So Tony Stark curled up under the quilt and wept.

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**Until next time then, my lovelies!**

**(and anyone wondering how a kid could sleep through that argument, believe me, they can. Kids can sleep through **_**anything**_**!)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry this took so long! I intended to get it out much sooner but real life got in the way in the form of hospital appointments (urgh!) and the possibility of a new job (awesome, but seriously stressful getting it all sorted).**

**I want to say a huge thankyou to everyone who has been reviewing and faving and following; you guys are my lifeline!**

**A special thanks to Arianissa for some amazing reviews that made me jump around the room like an imbecile! Thank you!**

**Again, love you all and hope you enjoy!**

Tony was woken after about four hours sleep by the sofa he was laying on jostling as Evie climbed up onto it.

"Wha' you doin' awake, little bird?" He murmured sleepily, barely opening his eyes.

"Bad dreams. Can I sleep with you?"

"Sure, come on in." Tony lifted the edge of the duvet so that his daughter could wriggle in next to him and curl up against his side. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. In the morning." She sounded as sleepy as he did, and already seemed to be drifting off again. She'd woken up just enough to make her way over to him and had barely been able to keep her eyes open enough to do so.

Tony was unsurprised to see her fall straight back to sleep – so quickly as to make him wonder if she'd been partially sleep-walking. He wrapped his arm over the girl's shoulders and she latched onto his hand like it was a teddy bear. This meant that he was now fairly uncomfortable, but seven years – to the day, no less – of parenting had made him used to giving up his own comfort for the sake of his child.

It did mean, however, that he was not going to fall asleep again anytime soon.

Looking down at his daughter he once again tried to find any trace of Loki in her face, studying her in the faint glow of the magic stars. Thick brown hair, snub nose, oval face; all of it was pure Stark. Even the way she frowned was the same as Tony's own expression. He could see why none of the team had ever made the link to Loki. She didn't even turn blue in the cold – as he'd noted with a little disappointment, although it was probably for the better.

No trace of Loki.

The thought drew his mind back to the throbbing pain in his head and ache in his chest as he re-realised the loss of his partner. Loki didn't want to be found. Had asked specifically that Tony wouldn't hunt for him.

_Our little bird will need you; you have done a phenomenal job of raising her, and I can never thank you enough for insisting that I have a part in her life. However, if I am taken by the chitauri she will need you to be there for her._

_So don't look for me. She deserves every iota of love and devotion, every second of your time and I don't want you to waste a moment by searching fruitlessly for me._

What a ridiculously impossible thing to ask! How was he meant to _not_ tear the universe apart to find the missing God?!

With the anger and pain and heartbreak chasing each other around in circles sleep evaded the man for the rest of the night.

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Breakfast the next morning was a subdued affair.

The breakfast-bar in the kitchen was piled high with presents, but Evie couldn't even bring herself to be excited about them. She dutifully opened each parcel and card carefully, thanked whomever it was from and placed them in a neat pile. Nothing would persuade her to eat, though, and in the end Tony decided not to push the issue. Instead he suggested that she start playing with some of her new toys and hoped that hunger would send her back for food later.

"Tony, did Jarvis tell you Fury's been trying to reach you?" Bruce asked quietly.

"Yeah, I told him to ignore all calls." Tony helped his daughter to open up the considerable amount of cardboard and plastic that surrounded the small easel and paint pallet that Steve had bought her, ripping through the packaging with unusual aggression.

"You can't avoid what happened yesterd-"

The glare Stark levelled on his fellow scientist was nothing short of murderous. He left Evie to finish off pulling the easel free and stalked over to where Banner and Steve were sat.

"It's my daughter's birthday. She is seven years old. Yesterday she was taken hostage and had to watch all the adults who were meant to protect her fall like dominos." His tone of voice was one that could have soldered iron. "And I have to somehow make it all better. Her mother is gone, possibly dead, definitely being tortured, and she knows that. She knows monsters are real and watched as they abducted Loki infront of her whilst none of us could do a _thing_ to stop it. So why do you think that me having a chat with Fury could _possibly_ be more important than making sure Evie isn't permanently scarred by what happened?!"

"And if the chitauri come back?" Banner asked reasonably. "We had no defences yesterday because we had no idea they were coming. And you did."

"I did _not_ know that they would-"

"You didn't know that they would appear in the living room but you were aware that they were searching Earth and that what they wanted was likely to lead them here."

Tony's expression went blank, a sure sign that he was holding himself back from throwing a punch. "Loki didn't lead them here."

"We aren't saying he did." Steve put his hand between the two scientists in a placating manner. "All Fury wants is to know what's going to happen next."

"Oh, and I suppose I'm able to tell the future now, huh?"

Captain America ran a hand down his face, taking a calming breath. When Tony Stark decided to be belligerent there was usually no way to make him see reason.

"We just want to work out what's going on here. With everything that happened yesterday surely you can understand that we're confused?" He made sure he spoke in a non-confrontational way, keeping his voice quiet. "We saw the video Loki left for you; all Fury wants is to know what you'll do next and what that may mean for the team and for Shield."

Tony was spared from having to reply when Evie tugged on his shirt.

"Daddy, can you help me set this up please?" She held up the easel, now free of its packaging.

"Yeah, come on; let's go into the games room. Lots of fun things for you to paint in there." He left with a warning glance over his shoulder at the rest of the group, making very clear that he didn't want any of them following.

The games room had originally been what it said on the tin; a room dedicated to a wall-sized TV screen on which the Avengers could play X-box, Wii, Playstation and more recently the new Stark-Deck that combined the best of all the other systems. However, when Evie had been born it had slowly morphed into a more child-friendly playroom with board games and toys stacked up along the walls alongside the many shelves of console games.

Evie placed her new art set in the middle of the room and watched as her father set the easel up properly.

"What are you going to paint then, little bird?"

"Möhdy." The girl said firmly.

Tony glanced at her as he pulled the cellophane wrapping off the paint tin. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Möhdy, wearing his helmet and you in your suit." She picked up her paint brush with a determined air.

"Okay, just make sure you do a picture of Uncle Steve too, since he did buy you this."

"Yes Daddy."

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In the end Fury gave up calling and just turned up at the tower. Tony couldn't ignore him when the guy was in the foyer and refusing to leave so eventually gave in and allowed him up to the main apartments to talk. Evie was still painting and alongside her family portrait had created a picture of Captain America that had a neatly written 'Thank you Uncle Steev' along the bottom. Tony hadn't had the heart to correct her spelling. However, she seemed contented enough and was concentrating on her creations rather than on the events of the previous day so that her father felt okay with leaving the room to speak to the director.

The two ended up in the home-theatre again, with the lights on properly since Tony's headache had receded to bearable levels after sleep – as troubled as the night had been.

"So."

Always a good start.

"So what?" Tony growled. "Spit it out or bugger off. This wasn't how I envisioned my daughter's seventh birthday going so you'll have to forgive me if I'm _bloody pissed off_!"

Fury just nodded, rather than rising to the angry tone of voice Stark had used. "Fine. What do you intend to do about all…" He gestured a circular motion. "…this."

"In what way?"

The director sighed in exasperation. "You have a child with one of Shield's most wanted criminals and said criminal has now been abducted by a race that went to war with our planet. He also left a message that you kindly let us see in which he expressly asks you _not_ to try to find him." He steepled his fingers and watched Tony over the top of them. "I know you too well, Stark, and I know that you aren't one to be dictated to, so I want to know what your intentions now are."

Tony stared at him scathingly. "Well I'm going to find him of course."

"Despite him specifically saying that he wants you to forget about him?"

"No. He asked me not to search fruitlessly. So I won't." The shit-eating grin that had been missing since the surprise attack finally resurfaced. "If I search and succeed then it won't have been fruitless and I won't have gone against what he asked." He spread his arms wide in a gesture reminiscent of Captain Jack Sparrow. "Hey, I'm Tony Stark, I'm a genius! If I can't find a loop-hole in the God of mischief's reasoning then who the hell can?!"

Fury stared at him sceptically. "And how exactly do you intend to find your God of mischief when he's at the other end of the universe?"

"Fine details. I'll work on that later." Tony leant back in his chair, his grin falling back to a serious expression. "But what's bothering me right this moment is what _you_ intend to do about all…" He repeated the director's aimless gesture. "…this."

"If,_ if_, you find him, do you think Loki would be interested in teaming up with Shield or the Avengers?"

"Huh?" It was hardly the response Tony had been expecting and it rather blind-sided him.

"Would Loki work alongside us? And bear in mind I would like an honest answer, not just what you think I want to hear."

"I…" The man shook his head, trying to determine what his reply would be. For once his quick tongue was failing him with witty comebacks. "I'm honestly not sure. There's a lot of bad blood between him and Thor."

"Good answer. I'd have been inclined to think that you were lying if you'd immediately said that he would."

Tony shrugged. "Well, I don't even know if he'll want to come back to Earth. But…" He paused, resting his elbows on his knees so that he could prop his chin up on his knuckles, thinking. "I suppose he might at least give it some thought. I severely doubt he'd be great at taking orders, but he'd be an awesome asset to the team. If I appealed to his ego there's a chance he'd agree." Then he shook his head. "Of course, that's all assuming he's physically up to it."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning even if I can get Loki back do you really think he will be in one piece?" Tony dropped his gaze to the red carpet. "The chitauri made it very clear what will happen."

Fury tipped his head to one side in question. "And what is that?"

"_If you fail, if the tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where we can not find you! You think you know pain? We will make you long for something sweeter…_" Loki had only spoken the threat once, but Tony's near-photographic memory had retained the terrifying phrase and he repeated it now. "Somehow that doesn't inspire me with confidence that he's going to be okay. More like he's going to be the dictionary definition of _not_ okay and I have got to find him before that happens!"

Tony didn't realise that he was shaking until the director reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder. "Stark, breathe."

"I'm going to find him."

Fury sat back in his chair. "You really do love him, don't you?"

"Yeah. I just wish I'd actually told him that." Tony smiled slightly. "All these years and the great Tony Stark is finally in love. And I never told him."

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Evie was still painting when Natasha and Barton quietly entered the room, the archer's arm held up in a sling but he was moving around freely – more alert once he'd refused any more pain-killers.

"Hello Aunty Tasha, Uncle Clint." The girl hadn't turned around but had evidently seen their reflections in the blank TV screen. "Is Daddy finished talking to Uncle Nick?"

"Not yet." Natasha sat herself down cross-legged beside the child and looked through the pile of paintings. Behind her Clint slumped down in one of the over-stuffed beanbags. "These are good, Evie." They weren't really, but that wasn't what you said to a seven year old, especially on her birthday.

Other than the thank-you picture for the Captain every single page had Loki on it. Loki with Tony, Loki with Evie, Loki in battle dress. Loki, Loki, Loki.

"They're for Möhdy, when he comes back." Evie said quietly. "You don't like Möhdy, do you?"

"We don't know him." Natasha tried to sound fair, rather than just agree. "We've only really met him once."

"He said that you don't like him. That's why we could never ask you for help and why the monsters got him." She didn't sound accusing, but somehow the matter-of-fact tone was even worse. And it was true really; on his own Loki had never stood a chance against the chitauri.

"Maybe you should tell us about him, what he was like." Clint leant forwards a little in his seat, this obviously being the real reason he and Natasha had come in; they wanted the child's perspective on her wayward mother.

"Why do you keep saying 'was'? Everyone keeps saying 'was' and I don't like it. I did about past tense last week and I know what it means." Evie turned to face Barton, looking unhappy.

"Okay, sorry, what _is_ he like?" Rephrasing the question didn't seem to make much difference to the child's petulant expression.

"Möhdy is brilliant! He loves me and Daddy lots and he promised that he would get rid of the monsters so that we could live together as a family! He _promised_!" Evie made it quite clear that the universe was being terribly unfair in not letting Loki keep said promise.

"What do you talk about?"

"Lots. He tells me about the Vikings and I show him all the good work I've done in lessons and he once let me try on his helmet." She looked up at the ceiling. "Jarvis, do you have the photo?"

"Of course, Miss Evelyn." The large TV screen flickered to life showing the photograph of Evie standing on Tony's bed and struggling to stay upright as she held the iconic helmet on and waved frantically at a laughing Loki. It was a beautiful shot into an intimate family moment.

It appeared that the photograph album Jarvis had selected was on slideshow, because the picture suddenly changed, becoming one of the girl giggling as Tony preened whilst wearing the helmet. The inventor looked far too smug wearing it and the open and honest laughter on Loki's face could never have been faked. The next photo took both assassins by surprise.

Evie was still laughing in the picture, obviously not noticing that anything was amiss, but this time her father was placing the head-gear back on its owners head. Loki was looking entirely unsure and Tony's hand was gently cupping his chin in a tender, reassuring gesture.

"Miss Evelyn, if you wish to show Ms Romanov and Mr Barton the relationship between yourself and your Möhdy may I play a piece of footage from last Christmas?" Jarvis asked.

The girl shrugged. "If you think Daddy won't mind."

The AI seemed to assume Tony would be okay with it because the photographs vanished and were replaced with a video clip.

_Evie slipped under the covers, letting Loki tuck them in around her and unnecessarily fluff the pillow up._

"_There, ready to go to sleep?" It was obviously a leading question and the girl shook her head with a mischievous grin. _

"_Not yet."_

_Loki put a finger to his lips in mock-thought. "What have I forgotten?"_

"_Möhdy! You _know_ what you've forgotten!" Evie folded her arms, trying to pout around a grin. "Now go look!"_

"_As you wish, my lady." The God bowed his head, eliciting a giggle from his daughter. "I think there're some in here." He looked up with a thoughtful expression, scanning the room carefully._

"_There are always some in here! Daddy says they look out for me."_

"_How right he is." Loki rose to his feet, now staring at the corner with Evie's sofa and bookshelves. "And I can see one right over there."_

_The girl sat up in excitement as her mother darted over to the corner, reaching out to try and grab hold of something she couldn't see. His fist closed and he brought it up to his eyes to peer through his fingers as if observing a captured butterfly._

"_Did you get it?"_

_Loki scowled at his hand and opened it. "No, I missed. Where did it go?" He spun on the spot, taking in the room again as he tried to find what-ever-it-was that he was looking for. "Ah hah!" He leapt over to the doorway, grabbing at the air again before stumbling as he evidently missed what he was aiming at._

"_Come on Möhdy, catch it!"_

"_I'm trying! I think this must be a really good one, it's so fast!" Loki finally made a dive that wouldn't look out of place at the Super-bowl; sliding along the rug in a manner that would cause some serious carpet-burn for someone not a God. He held one hand aloft triumphantly, a warm purple light spilling out from between his fingers. "Got it!"_

_Evie wriggled back down under the covers again, grinning as Loki came over to sit next to her, his hands cupped around the light. _

"_Can I listen to it?" She pleaded. It was obviously a normal question, since the trickster held the captured glow up to her ear and she scrunched up her face in concentration before beaming. "It sounds like sleigh-bells!"_

"_Well it is Christmas. Ready?" Loki waited until his daughter closed her eyes with an eager nod before opening his hand and blowing gently at the light on his palm so that it burst over her face like fairy-dust. "There you go; one dream all safely delivered."_

"_Can you sing the song as well..?" Evie opened her eyes and stared up at him pleadingly, although it was obviously part of the routine – a dream-hunt followed by her favourite lullaby._

"_Oh if I must." The smile gracing Loki's face made it clear that he didn't mind in the least._

No-one in the room dared make a sound as the clip played through. The song that Evie had requested was the same ancient Nordic saga that Loki had sung to her when she was a baby and had continued to sing each time he put her to bed. Despite being a recording the saga still retained its unearthly and haunting properties that drew forward thoughts of ancient battle-grounds and dragon-prowed boats surging through stormy seas. Not necessarily something usually sung to get a child to sleep, but Evie obviously loved it.

"Oh…" It was all either Clint or Natasha could really think of saying. They had never really thought of Loki in any situation outside of being the raving madman he had appeared as during the invasion. To see him interacting with his daughter in such a sweet way was almost beyond them; to believe that the one capable of such atrocities was also capable of such gentleness and love.

In the end Clint just stood up and silently left the room, leaving Natasha to deal with the crying child.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWM

"We need to talk, Stark."

The day had been bad.

Understatement. The day had been _shit_.

Pure stinking, uncompromising _shit_, and now it was only promising to get worse.

Tony was in the smaller, undestroyed lounge with _Chicken Run_ playing in the background. Evie was curled up on his lap, eyes fixed firmly on the film (her present from Bruce) and smiling tentatively at the antics of the birds.

So Thor's quiet interruption was precisely _not _what the inventor wanted to hear.

"Now?" He growled the single word out. After having to spend a considerable amount of his day dealing with the fallout from the chitauri rather than celebrating his daughter's birthday, he really didn't want to have to move from his comfortable seat.

"Now, Stark."

Surname, not 'Tony'. Never a good sign.

The man scowled before giving Evie a gentle nudge in the back to encourage her off his lap. "Will you be okay with Uncle Bruce for a moment, little bird?"

"Where are you going?"

"Just out the room for a moment with Uncle Thor, I won't be long."

Evie looked uncertain, so Bruce – who had paused the film – smiled at her. "I'll stay with you, I want to see how Ginger gets out of the factory."

When the girl nodded reluctantly Tony stood up and ushered Thor out of the room. Closing the door behind them he leant against it with his arms folded across his chest.

"Fine. What?" He made it very clear from his tone of voice that he was not expecting this to go well. "And if this is about me defiling your baby brother and knocking him up, believe me; he defiled me just as much, and pregnancy wasn't meant to be on the cards."

"Loki had no honour left to lose; that isn't why I wished to speak with you."

Well that was the dictionary definition of scathing. It even made Tony pause for thought; he didn't think he'd ever heard Thor sound so cold. However, he wasn't one for remaining speechless.

"Go on then, I'm absolutely _agog_. What's worse than me and Loki having a kid?"

"I find myself hurt that throughout these past seven years Evelyn has been referring to myself as 'uncle' and not _once_ did you tell me that there was truth to that title!" Thor kept his voice surprisingly low – they were only in the corridor, apparently he didn't want to be over-heard any more that Tony did. "All this time I assumed that it was just the way a child refers to their elders, the way she has with the others in our team. Why did you not tell me that when she called me uncle it was the _truth_?"

"Because Loki didn't want you to know!" Tony snapped back. To be honest he could see exactly where Thor was coming from, and had actually argued this very point himself with his partner, so he'd be damned if he took the blame for it. "I asked him if I should tell you and he refused. It wasn't a call I felt I could make without his say-so." He shrugged slightly. "If it's anything, Evie hasn't realised, she doesn't really get how you and Loki are related yet."

"I see." Thor plainly didn't, but sounded somewhat less hostile than he had. Tony's expression softened slightly.

"Look. She's just lost her mother; this isn't really something I can bring up with her at the moment."

"I understand that; I just feel insulted that neither she nor I were aware that we are more of a family than you ever let on."

"Loki's choice, not mine. Take from it what you will." Namely that the trickster hadn't exactly _wanted_ his daughter and adopted brother to class each other as family. However, Tony wasn't going to spell that out, since a hammer to the face often causes offense. "He had precious little say in Evie's life, so when he _did_ make a decision I usually didn't argue with it."

The thunder God tilted his head to one side in thought as he considered what his team-mate was trying to say.

"What would make you do so much for an enemy of this planet, Tony Stark?"

"I…Huh?" The question completely derailed the inventor's train of thought and it took a moment for him to change track and find an acceptable answer that wasn't 'because your brother's great in bed'. "In a nut-shell? Because I love him. In more complicated terms; Because he didn't try to kill me when it was just a casual thing between us, and then because he trusted me enough to sit by his side when he gave birth to our child. Did you know his magic is lost to him when he's in labour? He was the most vulnerable that it's possible for him to be, and he trusted me enough to be with him and not harm him. That's a big something in my books. I'd do _anything_ for him after I saw how hard it was for him to give up Evelyn, and yet he did so because he knew it was the best thing for her." Tony could feel the back of his throat seizing painfully and swallowed heavily. "I would do all this for Loki because he's put his faith in me. A _God_ has put his faith in _me_ and whilst I'm not the religious type I know that that's a pretty big deal. He has trusted me with his daughter, his life and his love and I doubt that he's _ever_ done that before with anyone, so yeah, I'm not going to do anything to jeopardise that." He tilted his chin up, exposing his throat. "So if you feel like smacking me with Mjolnir, go ahead, it won't change a thing."

Instead he was pulled into a tight hug which, considering it was coming from Thor, was almost as bad as being smashed by the God's hammer.

"Did you truly mean it when you said that you would find him? No matter where he is?" Thor voice was muffled by Tony's shoulder, but the anger had drained, replaced by the heartfelt plea of a brother. It made Tony realise that perhaps he and Evie weren't the only ones to have been devastated at having Loki snatched away infront of their very eyes.

"Yeah, of course I meant it." Wriggling slightly so that Thor wasn't crushing his injured ribs quite as much he gingerly patted the God on the back. "I'm going to get him back, big guy. _We're_ going to get him back."

WMWMWMWMWMWMW

It was cold.

That was unexpected and unwelcome.

Pain was a certainty but for a Frost Giant the cold should not have had such an effect on the figure curled up in a small ball in the corner of the water-logged cell.

Loki couldn't tell how long it had been.

He was naked, shivering from a cold that he shouldn't have been able to feel and the fear that now never left him. Perhaps if he were in his Jötunn form it would have been more bearable, but he had no control over Odin's magic so could not now change forms. His arms were held up at an uncomfortable angle, but that was hardly noticeable over the pain that was caused every time he tried to move them. The cuffs restraining him were shaped like stirrups, but rather than circling his wrists the straight bars had been drilled through between the ulna and radius of each arm like a grotesque piercing. It meant that there was no possible way to slip free of them, whilst the ligament and nerve damage rendered his hands useless and in turn defenceless.

He deserved this.

It was something he was constantly reminded of; he deserved this.

And how _easy_ it would be to just accept it. To just bow down until the weight of it broke him entirely and there wasn't enough of him left to have to endure what they wanted to do to him.

And that was precisely what he had expected to happen and had planned against.

Although the entire area that Loki was kept in was under the influence of the confounded contraption that blocked his magic he had had a single chance. Whilst they had stopped him from being able to cast any more magic, he had realised that in every confrontation he'd had with them his magic had been blocked, but any already-existing magic hadn't been destroyed.

And in the moment that they finally took him into their custody there was a spell active that he almost never removed, but that now could prove crucial.

The glamour that hid his true gender was not, in the greater scheme of things, a necessary thing to maintain. Certainly, the chitauri would make good use of their discovery once he removed it and revealed what he really was, but it wasn't going to help him survive any better.

These thoughts had crossed Loki's mind in the brief moments of the teleportation. He had been well aware that upon reaching his prison and punishment he would never be in a position to move the spell, so grasped the milli-second opportunity as it arose. There was not enough power for it to be of any external use, and he was aware that the moment he moved the magic away from his body it would be destroyed by the chitauri technology but by moving it to another place upon his person it might serve more good.

There was one thing about himself that the trickster prized above all else and would protect above all other things, and that was his mind. They could (and would) break his body as much as they cared to, but he would fight to retain his mind.

The first time he had been their guest his consciousness had already been in tatters and it had taken little for them to fully rip it from him.

Not this time.

In the brief moments of between-ness during the teleport, Loki took hold of the spell creating his glamour and allowed it to flow up through his body and wrap itself around his mind like a protective blanket. Externally there would be no change – at least until they removed his clothes – but now it meant that he had an added mental barrier against the tortures and pain they would inflict.

For the chitauri the ideal situation would be to break their prisoner until there was nothing left of him. Until he had no name, no family and no love to remember.

And that was the very thing Loki was desperate to protect. If he was going to spend the rest of his life in this hell until they deemed fit to kill him, then at least he would do so able to recall the faces of his lover and daughter and bask in the meagre comfort it would provide. So he commanded the spell to keep him as sane as possible through what was going to happen and allow him to at least retain his sense of self.

It was going to be the only comfort he would receive.

It had been a wise move.

Torture had been the assumption, but he had given very little thought as to _how_ exactly they were intending to wreck their vengeance.

Creatively apparently.

The chitauri were nothing if not surprising. It had never occurred to Loki that alongside the warriors, they would have _scientists_. Creatures of discovery, exploration and inquisition. Who wanted to _know_ everything. Who wanted to know exactly what made a Frost Giant tick and didn't care how they found out.

He'd been given to these so-called scientists to explore every inch of him for anything that could better the chitauri in any way. Could his blood contain vital nourishment, antibodies? Was it toxic? Did his bones contain rare minerals?

Their reactions to discovering that he was not infact truly a 'he' and was rather a hermaphrodite did not bode well for his future at all.

They had eternity to rip him apart safe in the knowledge that they could keep him alive for as long as they wished.

Vivisection is such an _ugly_ word.

Loki wished for death.

He couldn't beg for it though, even if his pride would let him. The simple application of a red hot blade had effectively removed his silver tongue and finally rendered him speechless.

All that was left was to scream.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

**Poor Loki (says the one putting him through this). **

**What shall happen? Will Tony find a way to get Loki back? Will the other Avengers agree to help or hinder? Will Loki even last long enough? And hands up who thought that was the suckiest 7****th**** birthday ever!**

**Love you all guys! Until next time :D **

**xox**


	10. Chapter 10

**Update! Yay!**

**Have I mentioned how much I love you guys recently? I love you guys!**

**Short author's note this time; enjoy the chapter!**

For the first time in many years Tony dreaded falling asleep for fear of a nightmare occurring. It had taken long enough for the Afghanistan flashbacks to recede, let alone the memories from the many battles he had fought in. But having the mismatched family of Avengers living with him, a daughter to raise and a lover to look forward to seeing, Tony had managed to fight back the nightmares until they barely bothered him anymore.

Now he dreaded them again.

Evie had refused to leave her father's side, and asked if he could sleep in her room again. It was understandable considering she was growing increasingly worried that the chitauri would turn up again and this time take her father too. Tony had no problem with this, but since the sofa hadn't been entirely comfortable he instead let her sleep in his king-sized bed. Evie accepted the compromise happily; if nothing else the arc-reactor made the best night-light around.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Tony had been lying on his back and staring up at the dark ceiling, but turned his head at the sound of the voice.

"Loki…?" All he could do was stare as the trickster emerged from the shadows with a gentle smile on his face.

"You're stressed out, you need to rest." The God made no sound as he sat down on the bed then rolled over to nestle up against Tony's side. He ran his hand along the man's chest, his fingers splaying out around the arc-reactor. "Worry isn't going to help anybody, you know."

The mortal closed his eyes with a heavy sigh at the reassuring and familiar weight of Loki's hand coming to rest on his stomach.

"…I'm asleep, aren't I?"

"Of course."

"You're a dream?"

Loki laughed quietly. "Well that's the general assumption to make when one is asleep."

"Not real in any way whatsoever? 'Cause this feels pretty real."

"That's because you have an extremely good imagination and a near-photogenic memory."

"…I hate you."

"No, you hate your own subconsciousness." Loki leant over so that he could rest his head on his partner's chest, Tony's hand automatically coming up so that he could run his fingers through the black hair tickling his chin.

"Where are you? Where did they take you?" The man whispered. He felt rather than heard the God laugh in response.

"Obsolete question. I'm a dream; if you don't know the answer, I can't tell you it."

"Well that's no fun." Tony knew he'd been on a hiding to no-where with the question, but it had been worth a try. By the looks of it his subconscious was at as much of a dead-end as he was.

"How's Evelyn?"

"You're a dream, why are you asking?"

Loki raised his head to smile indulgently at his partner. "Because you know it's exactly what I _would_ ask if I was really able to. And you are worrying about her an awful lot." He propped his chin up on Tony's chest, so that his eyes were hooded due to the angle when he looked up at the inventor.

"Of course I'm worrying, you were snatched away infront of us, she's terrified."

"I'm sorry."

Tony laughed softly. "Now I _know_ you're a dream! I can count the number of times I've heard you apologise on one hand." He gently ran his fingers along Loki's cheek, trying to remind himself that this was not real. "Are you in pain right now? Where-ever you are." He knew the only answer he'd get would be from his own mind, but he still asked it – it made it seem more like Loki was truly there.

"Yes."

"Am I going to be able to rescue you?"

"You know I don't want to be rescued."

Tony smirked slightly. "That wasn't what I asked. I know what you said in your message, but you can't expect me to just sit here and do nothing." He idly wrapped a lock of Loki's hair around his finger in a repetitive gesture. "Can you understand that? Can you accept that?"

"You're looking for such an answer from something that isn't real, Tony."

The man sighed heavily. "I know, I know. But I need to know that you understand that I can't just go on and live my life knowing that you're out there somewhere." He whispered. "I'm going to search for you. I need to know if you can accept that I'm not going to do as you asked."

Loki lifted himself up enough to press a kiss to his partner's cheek. "Dream, Tony. I can't give you these answers."

"I _know_!" The two words were snapped, but the anger wasn't aimed at the trickster. "I know. I know this isn't real, I know that I'm actually having a conversation with myself right now, but I still need to hear the words, even if they aren't real. I need to hear that you understand why I'm not doing as you've asked." He looked away from the piercing green stare, closing his eyes. "I need to know if you can forgive me." He mumbled.

Two hands cupped his face, and he felt a soft huff of breath across his lips. The whispered words were as faint as the kiss itself as the dream was slowly pulled away by the sound of Jarvis trying to wake him up.

"_I forgive you._"

MWMWMWMMWMWMMW

The very first thing Tony decided to do was try and retrieve anything that had been caught on the surveillance systems before they had been blocked out by whatever it was the chitauri had been using.

On the plus side, that was a link he could follow. The chitauri technology used to block Loki's magic had also blocked out most of the electrical signals in the vicinity so that was another little fact he could now add to his (short) list of things they knew.

So here he was in the labs, trying to patch together the fractured pieces of footage and readings to make a fuller picture of what they would come up against.

"How are you going to find him, Daddy?" Evie was sitting next to him at the work-station, supposedly researching the Aztecs for her homework, but choosing to watch what her father was doing instead. She had refused to leave his side and since Tony was only doing the theoretical work at the moment the labs currently weren't all that dangerous.

"I don't know yet, I'm still working on it."

"But you will find him, right?"

He reached out to ruffle her hair without ever taking his eyes off the screen. "Why are you even asking? Of course I will."

"But won't he be at the other end of the universe? I thought we could only reach the moon."

"Don't let other people's limits hold you back Evie. Remember; Uncle Thor isn't exactly from around here."

That was more than noticeable this morning since the Avenger's had woken to find their resident Thunder God missing and a hastily scribbled note in the kitchen explaining that he'd gone back to Asgard. Apparently Thor had more faith in his people than Loki ever had since he had mentioned petitioning to the Allfather for help tracking the God of Mischief.

Tony had pragmatically decided that anything was worth a try. Either they would get some divine help – which would be awesome – or Odin would refuse and they'd be no worse off than before Thor had left.

And hell, he had _science_. Nothing could beat science when it came to getting the job done.

"What are you doing now?"

He also had a small child who apparently didn't understand that some things required concentration.

"I'm trying to patch together all the data that was gathered before the cameras and stuff shorted out."

Evie scrunched up her nose in confusion. "…You're doing a computer jigsaw?"

"Something like that." Tony rubbed a hand across his eyes as the scrolling symbols blurred slightly. It was beginning to look like the Matrix.

"How did they do it?"

"Do what, Evie?"

The girl had the end of her tablet pen in her mouth, but removed it to speak. "How did the monsters teleport? Is it like when Möhðy teleports?"

"I don't know, it's something I need to work on."

"It _looked_ like the same way Möhðy teleports."

"It did, yeah." Tony was barely concentrating on what-ever tangent his daughter was currently entertaining, but something in her line of questioning made him pause and actually listen for a moment. "What do you mean, they looked the same?"

Evie shrugged. "When Möhðy teleports he always blurs a bit before vanishing – like he's moving really fast on the spot – and the monsters did the same thing."

It went without saying that the girl's eyes were better than Tony's – age and all that – but he'd never seen anything remotely like _blurring_, as she had described it and his vision wasn't _that_ bad. He quickly pulled up a video file of the last Christmas and skipped through it to the very last moment when Loki was leaving.

"Blur, you say?"

"Yeah, you haven't noticed?"

The clip played, only about three seconds worth. One moment Loki was there, the next he had vanished. Tony couldn't see what his daughter was talking about. Was she imagining it?

"Jarvis, slow it down. Half speed."

Still no difference. Here one moment, gone the next.

"Are you _sure_, little bird?"

Evie pouted. "Yes! The computer's being silly!"

"Okay, okay. Slow it even more then Jarvis. Infact, go for broke and get it as slow as possible."

"Yes sir."

The original three second clip lengthened until it was almost thirty seconds. The screen was HD at its finest and the cameras were the best that even money couldn't buy and even then Tony had to watch it through twice to see what was happening.

In super slow-mo it was possible to see how Loki _didn't_ actually just vanish on the spot. Rather – and Tony felt bad for using the reference, but it was too good an analogy to _not_ use – it looked very similar to the teleport systems in _StarTrek_. The trickster looked as if he was flying upwards before winking out of existence. Tony knew little of how the teleportation spell worked – it defied normal physics – but this now suggested that there was a brief moment of acceleration before the proper speed could be reached for it to fully work.

"You _saw_ that?" He turned to stare at his daughter in amazement. "You could see that he was moving?"

"Only a blur. Is he flying?"

"I don't think so, but this could be something I can work with." Tony knew that the child had good eye-sight, but _this_ was something else. She had seen a movement that was supposedly too quick for a human eye to follow.

It was times like this that he was reminded that actually she _wasn't_ entirely human.

So, Loki had to accelerate before reaching the speed required for the teleport. He could use that knowledge.

"Daddy-"

"Just a moment, Evie, Daddy's thinking." Tony pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes as ideas sleeted across his mind. This was often the way his inspiration worked; a single stimuli that set off a cascade that he then had to unpick to find sense in all of the ideas. Right now his thoughts were all sleeting in one direction and that was; _Newton_.

F=ma; Force is equal to mass multiplied by acceleration. And here acceleration was the key word.

"Jarvis, I'm thinking _Principia Mathematica_. Can you-"

"On it, sir."

"I love you, Jarvis!"

Evie watched blankly as the screens of esoteric symbols were minimised and instead a map of the world was put up, with the exact position of Stark Tower a red pin-point.

"Right, Evie's third birthday, he went to Rocco Forte Hotel De Russie in Rome afterwards, because he sent that ironic postcard." Tony had begun to type feverishly, inputting co-ordinates and Google-mapping the exact location of the fancy hotel. "Jarv, is it possible for you to pull up the-"

"Done it sir." The video-file of Loki leaving the night in question popped up in the corner of one of the screens, a complex set of equations unfolding beneath it. "I have pre-empted your next request and am trying to ascertain Mr Laufeyjarsson's velocity upon exit."

"You know me _far_ too well." Tony glanced up at the sound of the sliding door to the labs opening and grinned as Bruce entered. "Brucie! My Jolly Green Giant! Let me guess: you're here to summon us to dinner?"

"Uh…yeah…?" Bruce looked thoroughly unnerved at the huge smile his friend was sporting, given the circumstances. "What are you doing?"

"Daddy's being a genius!" Evelyn piped up before Tony could answer and her Father ruffled her hair fondly.

"Okay, but _what_ are you doing?"

"You heard the child; I'm being a genius." Ironman prodded the screen as emphasis. He slid his stool to one side so that Bruce stand next to him and stare at the screen.

"That looks confusing…"

"I only had this idea a few moments ago, I don't even know if it's possible yet, but so far it's the best I've got."

Dinner forgotten, Bruce pulled a stool over and sat down, trying to make sense of the equations flashing around the screen.

"That looks like the escape velocity formula." He said thoughtfully. "But you're trying to substitute distance into it…?"

Evie watched the two scientists for a moment then sighed and quietly asked Jarvis to send their dinners down to them – she knew her father and his best friend far too well. It didn't bother her that they would be eating in the lab, but it did mean that Aunty Pepper would be hounding them later about it.

She turned her attention back to her tablet whilst waiting for the meals to turn up, fidgeting irritably with the plaster on her neck.

Meanwhile Tony was animatedly explaining his master plan to Bruce, gesticulating enthusiastically as he tried to get his point across.

It was complex, but the plan boiled down to physics.

The acceleration before the teleportation was something new that Tony had never considered before. His theory – only a working theory, since there was no way to know yet if it was possible – was to have Jarvis calculate precisely what that acceleration was. That value would then be matched with the distance between Stark Tower and the Italian hotel that Loki had arrived at. Then a new video would be used where Loki had teleported to a known location and Jarvis would begin the same process again.

"You want to see if there's a link between the acceleration and the distance that he travels." Bruce stated finally.

"Yeah. It's shoddy mathematics since the only time value I've got to go on is the one time he took me with him. I've had to assume that all journeys are roughly that length." Tony flicked a hand vaguely. "But I'm hoping that if there _is_ a link then I can work out a constant to fit into the equation."

"End game being?"

"Evie; do you want to tell Uncle Brucie what you noticed earlier?"

Evie was caught unawares by the question, half-way through a mouthful of noodles. She slurped them up noisily and tried to think.

"That Möhðy and the monsters teleport in the same way?" She ventured.

Tony turned back to Bruce with a wide grin. "My kid's a genius."

The mild-mannered physicist frowned slightly. "So you're basically saying you're trying to work out how far away Loki now is." He shook his head at Tony's huge grin. "That's…brilliant. Completely ridiculous, but still brilliant. Just how many assumptions are you having to make here?"

"Oh, tons." Stark turned back to the screen with a shrug. "It may end up that there isn't a link at all between acceleration and distance when it comes to teleportation. Or that the chitauri use a different method so the calculations would be obsolete anyway. Or that I'm wrong in assuming the time travelled is always the same despite the distance. There are tons of things that could be wrong. As equations go I'm balancing a feather on a soap bubble, but I've only been working on it for…" He glanced at his watch. "Quarter of an hour."

"Ahem." The voice was quiet but emphatic.

"Oh, sorry Jarvis. Okay, my awesome and very British AI has only been working on it for quarter of an hour. But it _was_ my idea. Well…My idea but Evie sparked it. Joint family effort. Me, Evie and Jarvis trying to find Loki. The whole dysfunctional set!"

Bruce's gaze was a little _too_ piercing, to the extent that Tony turned back to the screens again.

"Don't get your hopes up with this, Tony." The warning was soft but spun to sound almost like a command. "This is the long-shot of all long-shots, you can't expect it to work."

"It's a million-to-one chance!" Again, the grin was just a bit too wide, Tony's eyes just a little too wild. "Hey, we all know that million-to-one chances work!"

Bruce glanced towards Evie, who was back to being engrossed in Angry Birds and was not really paying them much attention. "You don't want to get _anybody's _hopes up." He added meaningfully.

"I…Yeah. Yeah, I know. You know me when I get caught up in a project, though."

"Even a quarter-of-an-hour old project?"

"It's still a project." Tony glanced at their now-cold dinners and Evie's empty plate. "We should probably go upstairs and re-heat those."

"Probably."

The inventor heaved himself off the stool with a groan. "Come on then. Evie? Pudding?" He smiled as his daughter immediately shut the game down and grabbed his hand. "Jarvis? Hold fort and work on this for me? Give me a buzz if you get stuck or come up with anything good."

"Of course sir. You do recognise that the likelihood of my 'getting stuck' is practically nil? But I will call on you should it somehow happen."

"Smart alec."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

It was another day before Jarvis alerted the Tower to Thor's return, only moments before the god touched down on the landing platform that Tony used for Ironman. The blonde was looking tired and before he even spoke it was obvious that he wasn't bringing good news.

"Heimdall can't see him."

Thor slumped down heavily on the stool at the breakfast bar, gratefully accepting the coffee Natasha offered him, and downing it like a shot of whisky. Other than the red-headed assassin only Tony, Evie and Clint were present, which at least meant they were less likely to all talk over each other.

"So…What does that mean?" Tony remembered the name; some dude at the end of the rainbow-bridge who kept watch over everything, or something like that.

"It means, my friend, that my brother is beyond the nine realms, to where Heimdall's gaze cannot reach."

Clint shifted on his seat. "And that's a bad thing because…?" He yelped as Natasha smacked him around the head. "Okay, okay! _Fine_, I'm playing nice."

Tony ignored the assassins and focussed on the thunder God. "So, all this means is that he's not in the nine realms. No biggie. We can work with this, I'm trying to find out how far away he is so maybe me and Heima-whatsit can tag-team. I get some co-ordinates, your dude has a peek and bippity-boppity-boo we have Loki back by tea-time and non-the-worse for wear."

Thor smiled weakly. "You humans and your optimism."

"Don't think it'll work? Big guy, have some _faith_ in how awesome my science is!"

"And how awesome Daddy is!" Evie added. She and Tony fist-bumped.

Thor laughed at that, lighting up a little. "Am I to understand that you have been working on something then?"

Clint and Natasha perked up at that – so far Tony had been too busy with his new project to actually explain it to anyone other than Bruce. He looked at the three expectant faces and poured himself a cup of coffee with a groan. He hated explaining science to Thor. Surprisingly enough the god was not an idiot and could understand it well enough, but tended to get far too enthusiastic in trying to relate what he was being told with irrelevant information that he already knew.

"It's still in the works, I don't know how feasible it will be yet, but it's something." He cupped his hands around the warm mug and began to explain his master plan.

He didn't admit that he was hanging all of his hopes on it.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

"So." Clint found Thor back in the kitchen, hours later.

"Nothing good ever comes out of starting a conversation thus." The god said quietly.

"Yeah, you're probably right." The archer hopped up onto the counter-top of the breakfast-bar, kicking his heels against the cupboard doors. His arm was still in a sling but he was beginning to regain some use of his hand. "You look like shit. Actually you looked like shit earlier too, but you seemed to cheer up with what Tony was saying."

"It was heartening to hear so much enthusiasm and belief in his methods."

"Polite way of saying he's a cocky bastard." Clint plucked an apple out of the fruit bowl, but threw it from hand to hand rather than biting into it.

Thor raised an eyebrow. "You don't believe Tony can do it?"

"I'm not sure if he _should_ do it."

Back when they'd all first been brought together such a comment would have sent Thor off the deep end. However, ten years of friendship and mellowing – not to mentioning accepting that some of his friends held rightful grudges – had given him the ability to accept such statements about his wayward brother.

"You don't think Loki can have changed?"

"I…" Clint ran a hand over his face. "You know what? I really have no fucking clue what I think any more." He stared down at the apple he was holding. "All these years we've watched Evie grow up. We all love her, we'd all do anything for her, and then it turns out she's the child of the bastard who turned me into a drone and made me kill in his name." He shrugged. "And _then_ it turns out that maybe he isn't so much of a bastard any more. Maybe he had good reasons. Maybe he's a damn good parent. Evie obviously adores him and considering he surrendered to the chitauri for her I'd say it's pretty certain that she's his entire world." The archer tossed the apple from one hand to the other. "I don't know, Thor. Tasha thinks he was sincere in those videos – and she knows when someone's sincere or not. I'm just having a really tough time trying to reconcile that the person I still have nightmares about could have been as much a victim as me. And…Well, Tony…"

"Tony obviously loves my brother greatly." Thor mused quietly.

"Yeah. But since when has he ever made good life decisions?"

The god huffed with laughter at that. "But they did seem happy in those clips." He added. "I must admit that I haven't seen Loki looking that content amongst other people for far too long."

"Do you think he really loves Tony?"

"Undoubtedly. He has never uttered those words to someone who was not his family before. Not even to his wife."

"Huh." Clint kicked his heels again, uncaring if he marked the cupboards. "Damn! What the hell?! I don't _want_ to feel sorry for the guy! I don't _want_ to 'brave all hasten to his rescue' and all that crap! I don't _want_ to have to think about how to help rescue _Loki_ from what I've always thought he deserved anyway!"

"You believe him to deserve the torment the chitauri are putting him through?" Thor asked mildly.

"Yes! Well, maybe…I _don't know_!" The archer threw the apple in frustration and it sailed out of the open window with unerring aim. "_Coulson's still dead_!"

"I am aware, I saw it happen."

"And you can just accept it. Ten years is not long enough to forgive the death of a friend!"

"What about the death of a warrior in battle?"

Clint and Thor both turned to see Tony leaning in the door-way, arms folded across his chest.

"What are you talking about?" The archer snapped.

Tony shrugged as if he couldn't really care less. "You think that Coulson's death wasn't one of the very first things I ever asked Loki about?" He snapped. "Tell me, Clint, how do_ you _usually react when you're in the middle of enemy territory and one of them points a stupidly big gun at your head? Coulson was armed, he announced his presence and his intent; by Aesir standards it was a fair fight."

"_Fair_?! Loki stabbed him from behind-"

"You're an assassin, Clint. How many people have you snuck up on?"

"Tony is correct." Thor said heavily. "As much as Coulson was my friend, I must also acknowledge that by the rules of the training both myself and my brother received in our youth, Loki's actions were fair. He fought and killed an attacker in battle situations."

Stark pushed away from the door-frame he was leaning against and entered the kitchen properly. "Look, Barton. I'm not asking you to be best buddies with Loki, or to have anything to do with getting him the hell out of the chitauri's claws. All I want is for you to let me do this and not get in my way. And if at all possible to not be a bastard about him infront of Evie – I don't want her to know that you'd rather her mother were dead.

Clint glared at the inventor. "You _had_ to play the parent card, didn't you?!" He kicked his heels again, deliberately this time. "And 'mother' is a weird term for a bloke."

"That's why we use the Nordic term."

The archer tipped his head to one side, observing Tony through narrowed eyes. "Huh…"

"What?"

"If Loki's the mother I assume that means the mighty God of mischief bottoms during sex."

Thor choked. Tony smirked.

"Yeah. I am _that_ good in bed." He sauntered past Clint to the sink, bumping the archer's knee with his hip as he did so. "I can satisfy a God. Jealous yet?"

Barton scoffed and pushed the inventor away, but there was the ghost of a smile lingering on his face. "You're disgusting, Stark." He jumped down from the counter-top. "I'm outta here, before you start giving a blow-by-blow account."

"Blow-by… Oh Clint you just _walked_ into that one!" The lewd grin sent Clint running from the room.

"You speak of my brother in ways I do not wish to hear." Thor's deep rumble made the smile slip from Tony's face.

"Yeah, sorry big guy. If it's anything, we swapped positions a lot. It was always consensual and-"

"_Enough_ Tony. I don't wish to know of what my little brother likes in bed."

Tony grinned again, although it looked strained and didn't reach his eyes. "Sure, yeah, got it." He pulled a clean glass out of the cupboard over the sink and filled it with water. He had his back to the thunder god but could still hear Thor shifting uneasily. "So…What did your parents say?"

"They…were upset."

"Huh, yeah, I bet."

The sarcasm wasn't lost on the God. "They care deeply for my brother, even if he himself believes otherwise. They were mortified to find that his enemies now have him. And…" He sounded suddenly unsure, not at all like his usual self. "They were also hurt to hear that they had a grandchild that they had not been informed about."

"She isn't their grandchild." Tony gulped down the water and slammed the glass back down on the side.

"She's-"

"Loki's child. And he doesn't consider himself part of your family any more. Not after all the lies and all the shit he had to put up with." Tony turned so that he could have this conversation face-to-face and was surprised to see that this time Thor didn't seem angry about the subject. Rather the god looked small, crumpled. "I let him make the decisions when it came to family."

"I respect that, it just saddens me to think that my brother no longer considers himself as such. That he would want to hide his own child from our parents."

"Huh. Yeah, big wonder. Considering what happened to all his other kids."

Thor's shoulders slumped. "My father – _our_ father – seems to…I believe him to regret past actions." He said quietly. "He wishes to help find Loki and put things right with him."

"Put things right? What the hell does that mean? Throw him back to the north-pole planet he snatched him from in the first place?"

"_No_!" Thor continued to look devastated, and it was beginning to grate on Tony's nerves. "No, my Father wishes to apologise. He feels that there were better ways in which Loki could have learned of his heritage and he wishes to speak to him of it."

The inventor spluttered. "_Apologise_?! He thinks a simple _sorry_ will make up for the millennia of crap Loki had to put up with?! Hell, Odin taught him – taught _both_ of you that frost giants were evil, vicious monsters – and he then wonders if maybe, just _maybe_ he didn't handle it right?! How can a simple apology help that?"

"I don't _know_!" Thor dropped his head to the counter, the thud echoing around the room. "I don't know how my Father thinks Loki can forgive him. I don't know how I can hope he will forgive _me_. I have wronged my brother and all I can hope is that we can bring him back before it's too late."

"And if we don't?" Tony realised the words were out of his mouth before his brain could intercept them. Thor raised his head to stare at him. "I…I mean of course we will! We're going to get him back, Thor."

"You aren't certain." No-one had ever heard the god attempt to whisper before, but this was the closest Tony had ever heard. "You don't completely believe it's possible, do you?"

There were many replies that jumped to the forefront at that; from arrogant assurance to the bleak and broken truth. In the end Tony tried to find an unhappy middle-ground. "Science isn't an exact thing. I can't guarantee answers, I can't guarantee results and I can't guarantee that he'll still be…still be alive if and when we do recover him." He said slowly. "But what I _can_ promise is that I will do _anything_ to get him back. _Anything_ if it means having him back." He glanced out of the window at the darkening sky. "I just want him back…"

The last few words were so quiet that Thor almost missed them, and then wondered if he'd heard them at all when Tony plastered a trade-mark Stark-grin to his face.

"Well, if I want it to all work I'd better get to it, huh?"

Thor sighed heavily. "My brother looked truly happy with you, Tony Stark. I sincerely hope that he can know that happiness again."

"Yeah, you and me both."

MWMWMWMMWWMMWMWWMMW

It had been two weeks since Tony's genius idea with the teleportation. Jarvis was doing his best but the process was slow and the inventor had to put up with waiting.

Two weeks…

Evie was still refusing to sleep in her own bed – although she now consented to leaving Tony's side during the daytime as long as she was with an Avenger. Fury had tried to gently raise the subject of counselling but so far Evie had been happy enough to talk with her father about how she was feeling. Although if she couldn't go back to her own bed after another week he might start considering it.

One of the big problems that the father and daughter duo had was the simple fact that they only saw Loki twice a year. If he had lived with them then the loss would be far more acute and – in a way – easier to face. But with the way things were it was normal for him not to be around and therefore it was harder to come to terms with the idea that he was well and truly _gone_.

Tony thinks vaguely that it's probably unhealthy. They should be mourning. There should be grief and tears and shit like that.

All he feels is emptiness. The little voice that whispers _it's not real._ As if he could possibly hope that Loki would turn up at Christmas. But until there was no sign of the God, it wasn't real.

Or that was what he had been telling himself.

So far the man hadn't thought that there was any other way he would really begin to feel the loss until the day Loki didn't appear. He was wrong.

"Sir, my calculations are complete." Jarvis' voice cut in on Tony's thought processes, bringing his attention away from the new phone he was designing for Natasha.

"Oh? Fabulous! What's the word?"

"The results are not perfect sir, I've had to be somewhat less than precise with some of the workings out since I was dealing with less than precise data, but I believe I have an answer."

"Great!" Tony put the tools down and spun to the computer screen. "How far away is he then? I can get building a –"

"1.07 billion, sir."

"What?!" The inventor dropped his laser screw-driver. "1.07 _billion_ miles!? That's like…Voyager One territory. Bloody hell! How are we meant to get there?!" He ran a hand through his hair. "I've never designed a rocket before. Or a shuttle? Should I build a rocket or a shuttle?"

"Um…"

It was such a rare event to hear the single syllable from Jarvis that Tony actually shut up. An 'um' usually meant something was very _very_ wrong.

"Jarv? What is it?"

"Um. Sir, the units are light years, not miles. Sorry."

"…What?"

Light years…

1.07 billion _Light years_.

"How many miles to a light year, Jarvis?" Tony's voice was steady and emotionless, his gaze unseeing.

"5.88 × 10^12 miles, sir. By my calculations My Laufeyyarsson is 6.3x10^21 miles away."

6.3x10^21 miles. 6.3 with 21 zeros tagged on the end. Even the genius inventor couldn't get his head around such a number.

"Can you…Can you put the number up on the screen for me, Jarv?" He asked dully. He stared at the result, breath hitching in his throat. It covered nearly halfway across the screen on a Word document.

"I'm sorry sir." Jarvis had dialled down his own volume so that he sounded softer than usual.

"Any idea of direction….?"

"Well, I searched all known NASA databases, and in that distance parameter there is a super-giant elliptical galaxy known as IC 1101. It is in the Serpens constellation. All things considered it is the most likely destination at the moment."

"Oh. So it's visible from Earth?"

There wasn't a reply. Instead the computer screen changed and a handful of false-colour images were put up. Most of them weren't very clear, just a dark expanse with a bright dot in the centre, but one – an x-ray photograph – showed the more typical swirl of the galaxy.

"Huh…" Tony traced the curl with his finger, smudging the screen. His breath was beginning to shudder and hitch as he stared at the picture. A galaxy tens of times bigger than the one containing Earth and yet so far away that even the best telescopes could only perceive it as a tiny dot.

And they couldn't even conclusively say that that was where Loki was.

"Sir? Are you alright sir?"

"No." Tony half slid and half fell from his seat, his back connecting solidly with the side-panel of the work bench.

_Billions of light years_!

Impossible.

That tiny dot. So far away.

He hadn't expected that. At best he'd thought the chitauri might be on the outer edge of the Milky Way. Billions of light years away. Inconceivable.

"Sir, I believe you are hyperventilating. Should I call Doctor Banner?"

Tony couldn't even reply. He curled over his knees, breath short and painful as he gripped his hair with both hands.

Oh. And _there_ were the tears he'd been wondering about. Not the cursory, silent trails he'd shed that first night. These were the real deal. All pain and noise and snot and horror. Real grief finally finding the outlet it had so far not been able to find and rushing out all at once.

Loki was really well and truly _gone_. Mankind were barely able to get a robot on another planet. If the God really was in that galaxy then it meant he was so far away that even the most powerful telescopes on Earth could only provide images of blurry pin-spots. And that was of the _galaxy_. In reality they would be looking for a single planet _within_ it. Or maybe even a moon.

The sheer scale of the galaxy and the number of celestial objects within it were beyond calculation.

Impossible.

Tony had never felt so helpless. Not in the hole in Afghanistan, not falling whilst caked in ice, not when the suit died after he delivered the nuke. Now, perhaps he felt he could understand at what Loki meant by staring into the heart of the universe. That feeling of how infinitesimally big it all is, and how small a single human being is in comparison.

He felt broken.

And dizzy. Really really dizzy.

He didn't really register when a hand appeared between his shoulder blades, gently forcing his head forward and down. The position somewhat banished the darkness that was threatening, but only just.

_This can't be real! He can't be gone like this!_

There were words. Calm down. Breathe. The hand was rubbing soothing circles on his back as he gulped and gasped, trying to stop the soundless scream that seemed to have looped itself into his throat.

Then the hand vanished and instead an arm was slung over his shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. The voice never stopped; a quiet and reassuring litany that slowly began to have an effect.

It took a long time before he was able to work out who was with him, and even longer to calm his breathing enough to speak.

"Bruce…?"

"Hey dude, you back with me?"

"…Not really." Tony scrubbed a shaking hand across his eye, not that it made much difference. "I can't save him, Bruce." He whispered hoarsely. "He's too far away, it's bloody impossible."

"Impossible isn't a word we like in these labs." The other scientist's voice was filled with dry irony but still contained a little warm humour. "Never say die."

"I can't do this."

"Oi!" Bruce cupped Tony's face in both hands, uncaring about the mess of snot and tears. "No way do you get to say that! After all the shit you've given me over these past years about learning to do the impossible and live with the Hulk, no _way_ am I going to let you give up so early into your own fight! It's been two weeks, _only_ two weeks. So what if he's impossibly far away? Expand our horizons! Get humanity farther than we've ever been before and do it all in the name of the pagan God who tried to take over the world. You're Tony Stark! _Don't. Give. Up. Yet_!"

Tony stared at his friend through red-rimmed eyes, not really comprehending what he was being told. "Huh?"

Bruce smiled at him sadly. "Don't worry about it. We'll talk once you're feeling more human. Right now I bet you feel like you've got the mother of all hangovers, right?"

"Uh huh." The inventor couldn't articulate much else. "How did you know to come down?"

"Jarvis told me you were having a panic attack."

"Oh. Is that what it was?"

"Close enough. Not fully _panic _per say, but the reaction was close enough as to be indistinguishable."

Tony nodded slightly, then groaned and raised a hand to his head. "Fucking hell…"

"Yeah. Come on, headache tablets, large glass of water and bed. You'll feel better tomorrow."

"I highly doubt that."

"Well, better than you feel right now anyway. A good night's sleep always puts a fresh perspective on things come morning."

Tony managed to scramble up to his feet and allowed his friend to support him when his head threatened dizziness again. He glanced at his computer screen but Jarvis had kindly wiped all of the images and instead there was a new render of the Ironman suit showing.

"I dunno what I'd do without all you guys."

"Oh, crash and burn I'm sure. But that's why we're here." Bruce generally kept his sympathy wrapped up in sarcasm, but the way his arm tightened around his friend's waist when Tony stumbled on the stairs spoke more of his support than his actual words ever did.

And to Tony it was the simple act of having a friend there that made it all a little more bearable.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

_His leg hurt._

_The simplicity of the statement didn't do the situation justice but it was the most he was able to coherently put into words._

_He was slumped back in the corner of the dank cell, the limb in question stretched out infront of him whilst he folded the other up to his chest in a mockery of safety. It hurt too much to do anything more than breathe. Even the mud and filth slicking the floor didn't grasp his attention – some things were just not important anymore._

_Broken laughter bubbled in his chest; oh how the mighty have fallen. The sound was harsh and alien, lost as it tried to force out of a throat already torn apart by screaming. _

_He tried to shift and stopped as the agony shooting through his leg flared again, almost causing him to black out. The limb had been systematically dislocated at the hip, knee and ankle to allow the chitauri better access to the network of ligaments that ran through it. The skin around his knee-cap had been peeled back and the small round bone forcibly removed so that the tendons and nerves were exposed._

_The raw wound was filthy from the muck and grime of the cell floor, so much so that it was barely possible to see what was going on under the dirt and blood. Tiny pieces of metal were glinting amongst the mess, clips that were cinched around the exposed nerves and ligaments. Their purpose had been to run a stream of electricity through the muscle – the chitauri had apparently wanted to see how well a Jötunn's physiology could conduct a current._

_The answer – as attested to by the way the wound had been cauterised by the high resistance – had been all too well._

_Combined with the dislocated bones, the shoddily removed patella and the filth clinging to the open wound it was a wonder that the burn could even be felt over it all._

_Loki let his head tip back to thump against the roughly hewn wall._

_His leg hurt._

_MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM_

**So, to fend off questions about what's going through Tony's mind here. Unfortunately when it comes to a sudden and unexpected loss of a loved one I'm writing from personal experience here. The crazy dream sequence, the chirpy 'oh I'm fine' thing Tony had going on and the breakdown/panic attack are all things that I know happen. Maybe other people experience this differently; I'm going with what I know.**

**Now, I don't usually use my own life experiences to help me write, but it's hard not to in this case. Hopefully I'll be able to portray the huge mix of emotions that happen in these circumstances. **

**So yeah, if anything here seemed a little psychedelic, it's all real, it all happens.**

**Especially the dream thing – a very strange thing to experience :) **


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry this took so long! Life's been tough recently, but it's nearly the Easter holidays, so the next update should be much quicker, yay! On the plus side, I also have a new job; double yay!**

**Love you guys for continuing to read/review/fave/follow this! Cookies and hugs to all (I make gluten-free cookies for those of you who can't have normal ones!).**

**MWMWMWMWMWMWMMWMW**

Time doesn't make things easier. It doesn't heal and it certainly doesn't help people to forget the pain. What it _does_ do is allow the body to grow used to that awful gnawing feeling in the chest. It allows the person to accept that the pain they're feeling isn't going to go away anytime soon, if ever, and lets the mind slowly come to terms with what the full loss will entail.

Time doesn't heal, but it helps to resign a person to the inevitable.

Life had fallen back into a deceptively normal pattern.

Tony didn't break down again in the same manner, but his bounce had gone. It was noticeable to the others that something had broken in him; there was a distinct lack of snark and witty comebacks, to the extent that the rest of the Avenger's had begun to genuinely miss the sarcasm.

On the plus-side he had solved Evie's sleeping problems by re-opening up the doorway between their rooms that he had closed up a few years previously. She was now happy enough to sleep in her own bed provided they left the door open and she knew that he could hear her if she called.

Weeks slowly rolled by into months. Halloween passed by mostly un-noted – they decided to watch _Frankenweenie_ rather than Trick-or-Treating – and Thanksgiving was the usual food-filled affair. It was Christmas that had Tony really worried.

Usually the weeks leading up to the Big Day were filled with Evie compiling all her favourite drawings and pieces of work to show Loki when he arrived. Not to mention their little tradition of giving the rest of the Avenger's the slip and going out Christmas shopping as just the two of them to find gifts for the trickster. Tony had always liked to imagine that perhaps somewhere in the world Loki was doing the same for them.

This year the piles of school books and walls of art were left untouched. They didn't go out shopping, although Tony did try to argue the case that they should at least see the lights, and Evie refused to help decorate any of the rooms. Christmas just wasn't Christmas this year.

It was obvious just how raw the pain still was when they all sat down on Christmas Eve to watch the _Muppet Christmas Carol_ as per their tradition. Usually Tony and Evie would have vanished at about six o'clock, as they had all the Christmas Eve's past – and now the Avenger's knew _why_ that had been the case – but this time they stayed to watch the film. There was no reason for them to leave; no-one to wait for.

Tony was vaguely paying attention to the film – after all, who couldn't love Michael Cain? – but had kept half an eye on his daughter so noticed that the child was more interested in the clock than the television. She could tell the time by this point and had begun to sniff when it was approaching seven. By quarter-past the front of Tony's T-shirt was wet through.

"Okay, come on, birdie." He stood up, lifting her up with him as she clung tightly. She was still just about small enough for him to carry without putting his back out. Tony left the room and took her into the kitchen so that they wouldn't disturb the others – not that the Avenger's would put a film before the child, but it also gave the two of them some privacy.

"He's not here." Evelyn sobbed, the moment Tony sat her down on the counter-top.

"We knew this was going to happen, Evie."

"But he's not here! He's always here for Christmas! That's what _makes_ it Christmas."

Tony pulled a handful of kitchen-roll from the holder by the sink and gently mopped up his daughter's tears. She sniffled miserably.

It had been extremely difficult for the child to really understand what 'gone' had meant when it came to losing Loki. She was so used to barely seeing him anyway that it took him not showing up on the one day that he was meant to for the message to really go home that he wasn't there anymore.

And whilst nothing could currently bring the missing trickster back to them, a hug went a long way in making the child feel a little bit better.

Evie clung like a limpet, getting Tony's jumper all snotty. He didn't care about the clothing, pulling her close so that she could wind her arms around his neck.

"Hey, you know that we're going to get him back, yeah?"

He didn't get a legible answer in reply, although that was understandable considering how hard she was crying. There wasn't really any way to make the situation any better either. He couldn't magically get Loki back there and then, he couldn't promise to have him back in the next few days and technically he couldn't _really_ promise to find the trickster at all.

As a father it was the feeling of utter hopelessness in the face of his daughter's grief that was the worst part of it all. No parent can cope with seeing their child in pain and not being able to help.

However, one thing he had learnt over the years was that the best way of calming the girl down, whether she was throwing a tantrum, was injured, scared or otherwise was a big hug. He'd read about it when she was a baby; one of those tid-bits that always showed up in child-raising books and on websites. He'd initially discarded it as so much bull-shit until – when Evie was about two or so – he'd run out of all other options in trying to stop her temper tantrum from hell. Surprisingly it had worked and still continued to do so.

When Evelyn had quieted down to the snuffly hiccupping stage Tony gently untangled her arms from around his neck and wiped her nose again.

"Feel a bit better?"

"No."

The inventor smiled sadly. "Yeah, me neither." He brushed the girl's hair out of her face. "You know what? I've got a surprise together on the roof for you, should cheer you up."

Evie rubbed her hands across her eyes to wipe away errant tears. "A surprise? What sort?"

"If I told you, would it still be a surprise?"

She smiled slightly and Tony carefully lifted her down from the counter-top. "Go put your coat on and your wellies, then." He said fondly. "It's gonna be very cold out there. Jarvis?"

"Minus seven centigrade sir, although the wind is low enough for what you have planned. There is a build-up of snow on the roof."

"Great. Okay kiddo, coat, boots, gloves and hat; I'll meet you at the elevator."

As Evie trotted off to fetch the items of clothing – her tears had been almost completely stopped by the promise of a surprise – Tony had Jarvis send his own outdoor clothing up from where he had abandoned it all in the lab.

The elevator took them all the way up to the roof of the tower, and a small portion of Tony's mind tried to remind him that they were going to the place that Loki had once tried to take over the world from. It looked entirely different from that day, all those years ago. Back then it had been a bright summer's day, the tesseract glowing an eerie blue as it happily welcomed an army intent on subjugating the planet.

Now it was dark, snow blanketing the space and more falling lightly. The city spread out before them in a map of lights as their breath hung in the cold air. Evie's hand was in Tony's again as she stared out at the spectacle; the lights of New York City on Christmas Eve.

"It's really pretty."

"It is something, yeah." Tony smiled down at her. "But this isn't the surprise. Remind me; what's your favourite film at the moment?"

The child looked confused at the unusual subject. "Tangled." 'Favourite film' was an understatement since she watched it at least every other day, was word perfect on the songs, owned a Rapunzel dress and had thrown a tantrum when told that she was too young to bleach her hair blonde. "Why?"

Tony reached down and pulled a bag out of the snow. Opening it revealed a cylindrical Chinese lantern similar to those used in the iconic scene from the Disney movie. It had actually been quite hard to find the right shape and he'd ended up shopping in the most secluded corner of China Town before getting hold of the paper construct. Once he'd got it home Jarvis had dutifully scanned it so they had the pattern to hand.

Needless to say, Evelyn's eyes lit up. "A lantern?"

"What do the King and Queen do every year with the lanterns?"

"Release them in memory of the lost – oh!" She stared up at her father in comprehension. "This is for Möhdy?"

"Thought you might like the idea."

The child looked down at the lantern she now held, turning it over in her hands. It had originally been a plain orange, but Tony had painstakingly painted runes around the bottom and top edge in red, which – according to Jarvis at any rate – spelt out the names of their little family. Evie looked back up and smiled.

"Can we light it now?" She asked hopefully.

"That's why we're here." Tony walked over to the small wall that was all that separated him from the plummet down the side of the tower. It was high enough that Evie could only just see over the top of it and had to reach up on tip-toe to be able to see over the edge. Their breath was only just visible in the air amidst the swirling snow as Tony pulled a cigarette lighter out of his pocket – no self-respecting scientist ever goes without, smoker or not. He had to flick it a few times before successfully creating a small flame and lighting the wick.

Evie held the lantern up until it filled with enough hot air to start trying to lift out of her hands.

"Now Jarvis." Tony called out to the ever present AI and as his daughter let go of the lantern the balcony two floors directly below them suddenly lit up.

Thirty or so more of the paper constructs lifted into the air, buffeted by the wind and highlighting the falling snow. They quickly joined Evie's lone original one until it was indistinguishable and the girl clapped her hands together with a squeal of delight. It wasn't an entirely accurate portrayal of the child's favourite scene from _Tangled_ since Tony didn't use quite enough lanterns for that, but it was more than enough.

Amongst the falling snow they looked like stars.

Tony picked his daughter up so that she could see better and the girl waved frantically at the dancing lights.

"Merry Christmas, Möhdy!" She called out and the wind whipped the words away into the night.

MWMWMWMWMWMWM

The atmosphere amongst the group was still…different even after a few months had passed. As much as they were trying to carry on as normal there was no way to go back the happy medium they had once had. Trust is a hard thing to gain and easy to lose and Tony knew that there were cracks in the veneer of trust he had earned from his friends. Most of the time it was as if nothing had changed, and then he'd notice someone staring at Evelyn in a strange way, as if trying to catch a glimpse of her other parent in her actions or looks.

Understandably Clint was the one having the most trouble readjusting to the identity of the child's mother, and whilst doing his very best not to act any differently around her it was obvious to the others that he was struggling. Of course, like hell he would discuss such things.

Well, unless Natasha beat it out of him.

They trained every day, as any athlete would; making the full use of the state-of-the-art gymnasium that took up a full floor of the tower. The normal running machines and such weren't usually used, and instead it was the gymnastics floor and equipment that received the most practice. The setup of the area meant that anything could be utilised in a sparring session. The walls were equipped with various handholds and there was a series of precarious rungs from the ceiling that could – in theory – be used by a person to get from one side of the room to another. So far only Natasha had made it the full way across.

This time saw the two assassins sprawled across the gym mats, exhausted, bruised and – in the case of Clint's nose – bloody. Natasha was on her back, one knee propped up as she stared at the ceiling trying to get her breath back. Clint was lying almost on top of her, his head pillowed on her stomach and his legs tangled in hers. If Tony had walked in on them in such a position there were any number of comments he might have made, but in truth it was simply that they were completely and perfectly comfortable around each other and had no problem with such physicality. Especially since they were both exhausted.

"So." Natasha moved her hand down to rest on the top of Clint's head.

"So?" He tilted his chin up, just enough to look up at her. Of course, from this angle all he could really see were her breasts, but for some reason that didn't seem to dissuade him.

"Talk."

"Did anyone ever tell you that one worded statements don't always get you answers when the recipient doesn't know what the fuck you're on about?"

"Yes. You tell me at least once a day." She glanced down at him with a smile. "But I know it annoys you."

"Too damn right it does." He stretched and examined his bloody nose in a subconscious gesture. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't. I want you to talk."

"Nat…"

"No. You've put this off for long enough, Barton!"

Crap. Last names meant she was pissed. The archer sighed and absentmindedly wiped the blood off his hand onto her trouser-leg. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Like hell." She didn't raise her voice, just continued sounding somewhat breathless from the fight. In a way a calm Natasha is even scarier than a shouting one. "Look. After all that shit with the chitauri and the Avengers all those years ago I gave you the chance to simmer down and work out what was going on in your head without ever _once_ bugging you to talk to me about it. I waited for at least two years before asking what had happened and all you said was that 'you didn't want to talk about it'. So I left well alone. When you consistently refused to ever bring up the subject after that I did wonder if it was good for you to bottle up all that shit, but, hey, who am I to tell you what to do? It wasn't like Loki was going to turn up again, was it?"

The sarcasm in her voice when she spoke the last sentence was palpable, and Clint sighed. He felt her hand in his hair again and closed his eyes.

"Nat…"

"No. Not this time. I've let you get away with it for too long already; you need to talk about it."

"About _what_?! About how Loki made me his little bitch? About how I was a brainless zombie for the guy?" He snapped the questions and felt the little warning tug to his hair that told him to calm down. "Look Nat, this isn't something I want to talk about."

"Well _tough_. You've had ten years of not talking about it, and now that we might be risking life and limb to _rescue_ the guy I think you need to unbottle everything."

"Unbottle isn't a word."

There was a stream of Russian that he could barely get the gist of but translated to approximately; 'Insult the way I speak your language when you are faultlessly fluent in mine', and he laughed.

"Okay, sorry. But still, I don't know what you want me to say. It sucked, that's about all there is to it."

The Widow's fingers tickled the top of his ear and he squirmed a little, trying to remove the touch. He felt her stomach move underneath his head as she huffed with silent laughter and moved her hand back to playing with his hair.

"There's more than that." She sounded so certain, like she already knew the story and just wanted to hear him confirm it. "I get that you hated being brainwashed, but more happened than that. It wasn't the first time you'd been manipulated onto the wrong side, so I know that he did something else for you to still hate him this much. What did he do to you?"

"Why does it even matter?!"

"Because Tony might need to ask for your help sooner or later, and you're going to have to decide whether or not to assist in rescuing Loki, of all people. So it matters. What did he do to you?" Natasha's voice remained low and non-aggravating.

Stalling for time, Clint shrugged. "What do you think he did? I'm sure you've got tons of theories; let's hear some of them."

"I'm honestly not sure. I thought I could read you like a book, but when it comes to those few days I have no idea what happened to you. Sometimes I wonder if he hurt you, sometimes I wonder if he made you hurt others, sometimes I wonder if he amused himself with you. I truly don't know."

"That's what you think about at night? Huh, no wonder you don't sleep well."

"Then put my mind at ease. Talk to me."

The archer lay silently for a good few minutes, trying to collect his thoughts on the matter. "It's hard to explain." He said finally.

"Try."

His sigh lifted the hair that had stuck to his forehead. "Fine. He was…Well, I guess it would have been a darn sight easier if he _had_ been a torturing bastard. It would be easier to just hate him and be done with it if he'd been fully evil."

"But…?"

"But he wasn't. He was…friendly, for want of a better term." His tone made it clear that this wasn't a good thing. "He seemed to be genuinely pleased with how enthralled Selvig was with the tesseract; seemed happy to listen to the guy babbling on about it. And he would ask my opinion on things. He let me orchestrate the attack on the helicarrier; simply trusted me to sort everything out. Even Shield doesn't just let me do my own thing without at least _some_ guidance. But no, he simply said that he knew I could handle the situation and left it at that."

Clint stared up at the ceiling as if he wanted it to burst into flames. "You'd have thought that bastard would have been all high and mighty considering how he was trying to take over the world and all, but he wasn't and somehow that makes it all _worse_. Psychotic evil I can handle, but he just _wasn't_ and I still can't get my head around it!" He thumped his fist against the gym mat. "I mean, what kind of World-Dominating-Super-Villain checks for allergies before he gets food for his minions?! _Who does that_?! And made sure there were adequate sleeping arrangements for everyone and that we all got some sleep. _And_ took an actual fucking interest in our conversations when we were in transit, even when about completely banal things like football!"

"You hate him because he showed his humanity."

"Huh?"

"Well, as you said, you could understand an insane megalomaniac who tortured and killed without thought or mercy, but he showed you that he _wasn't_ all that. That he had a sane, if not pleasant side to him. And that's had you completely flummoxed, so you hate him for it." Natasha said matter-of-factly.

"I…well, yeah, I guess." He sighed irritably. "It doesn't sound like something I should care about when I say it out loud, but it _grates_. I've never met a bad guy that I couldn't figure out. They either have some terrible sob story and you end up feeling sorry for them, or they're bat-shit insane and you can kill them without giving a damn."

"Loki does have a sob story, according to Stark."

"Yeah, Daddy didn't love him enough and the chitauri weren't very nice. Boo-fucking-hoo, there are millions of people throughout history who've had it worse and didn't try to take over a planet. I just can't get how he could do all that, and yet still pretend to be so bloody _nice_ to us minions."

"Is that what he called you?" Natasha kept her voice soft, like a therapist with her patient.

"No…Selvig said it as a joke and it stuck. That's why I started calling Loki 'boss'." He practically spat the word. "It was a joke, a nickname."

"What did it feel like? Being controlled?"

Clint growled, low in the back of his throat. "It was…Looking back it was the worst thing he could have done! It's exactly why I hate him! It wasn't like any mind-control I could have thought possible. You would think we were brainless zombies, but we _weren't_. It wasn't like he was really controlling us at all!"

"So what was it like?" Natasha never stopped her fingers moving through her friend's hair, knowing that the gesture would calm him a little.

"He made us want to be friends with him." Clint couldn't have put more loathing into the words if he tried. "It was like our perceptions were flipped but other than that we were completely ourselves. I followed him the same way I would follow Shield; because it felt like it was the right thing to do, like it was my duty. I _wanted_ to work to the best of my ability to achieve his goals because it was like it was suddenly all that mattered to me. And I _hate_ him for that! My mind's never been the best, but I don't let people mess with my loyalties like that! They are _mine_ and _I_ decide who I follow!" He stopped and took a deep breath through his nose, trying to calm himself back down. "So I hate him." He continued finally. "I hate him and I don't want to feel sorry for him with this whole chitauri mess."

"So you do feel sorry for him then?"

"I…I guess so? Y'know, Nat, I'm not even sure _what_ I feel now. I've spent so long hating him, it's gonna be a while before I can be sure I feel anything else."

He felt Natasha pat his cheek and smiled slightly.

"Thank you for telling me."

"Yeah, well, it was probably about time." He turned his head enough to nip one of her fingers affectionately. It was the closest they really came to sentiment.

MWMWMWMMWWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Tony was back in the lab once more, sitting infront of his bank of computer screens and staring hopelessly at them. He'd done the same thing for weeks now and still couldn't _think_. His mind was a complete and utter blank; something that as a genius he had barely encountered before.

"You should take a break from all this."

He glanced up without moving his chin from its rest on his fist. "Hi Spangle."

"I do wish you wouldn't call me stupid names." Steve sighed. His tone was world-weary, but his grin took the edge off.

"But it's far too easy. Capsicle, Spangle, Captain Star-butt. I could go on." The words were the usual Stark abrasiveness, but were delivered with no emotion; he sounded like he was reciting lines from a poorly written script.

The Captain rolled his eyes and pulled one of the stools over to sit down next to his friend.

"What do you want, Steve?" Again, biting words but with such a listless tone of voice they sounded like they were coming from a robot. Tony's chin remained cupped in his hand, his tired eyes never leaving the screens.

"I'm worried about you. You aren't yourself."

The inventor let out a little 'humph' of forced amusement. "Really?"

"Yeah. Really." Steve turned his attention back to the screens his friend was staring so avidly at. On each monitor there was a blurry picture of a galaxy. "Is that where…?" He trailed off awkwardly, but Tony knew what he was talking about.

"I dunno. Closest guess we have." He shrugged listlessly. "Jarvis calculated that he's over 1.07 billion light years away, and as far as our telescopes can tell us, this is the only galaxy at that distance from us. It's called IC 1101 – hasn't even been properly fucking _named_ – and it's in the Serpens constellation. This is the best I've got to go on. Technically he could be anywhere, but this is at least a starting block."

"So…What are you going to do?"

Tony let out a humourless laugh. "No fucking clue." He let his head tip forwards to rest against one of the screens – smearing the display. "I don't have a clue what to do next. Humans don't have a way of seeing that galaxy any better than as a blur, and Asgard aren't really able to give me anything more than what I already have here. I'm _stuck_. And Tony Stark does not _get_ stuck!"

There was a little whirr next to them as Dummy reached over and tapped Tony on the shoulder in what appeared to be a comforting gesture. The inventor snorted softly and raised his head to smirk at the robot before glancing up at the object that hung on the wall above his work station. The plain wooden staff that Loki had used against the chitauri now hung there as a constant reminder of what Tony was fighting for, looking oddly out of place amongst all the tech surrounding it. He sighed heavily.

"Why are you so set on finding him?" Steve asked quietly.

Tony glanced sideways at the soldier with an exasperated sigh. "What? Besides being hopelessly and utterly and soooo in love with him that I make the Twilight Saga seem plausible?" He asked dryly, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yeah. Besides that, Romeo."

"Ooh, get you with making a centuries old reference." Again though, the bite was lost to the caustic sentence. "Well _besides_ that, I'm doing it for Evie. I would have thought that that was obvious."

"She saw him twice a year, there's more to it than that. Sure, you love him, sure you want Evie to have her…uh…'Mum' back, but there's something else, isn't there?" Steve continued ruthlessly.

"And if there is?"

"Just _tell_ me Tony. Talking about these things helps."

The inventor leant back from his desk, spinning his wheely chair around in a full circle, hands up in the air. "_Why_?! _Why_ does talking help? It's not going to help me work faster, it's not going to help me figure this all out and it's not going to stop me from growing old and eventually dying without solving this!"

"_Dying_? What the hell Tony? Isn't that a little over-dramatic?"

Tony stopped his chair spinning so that he ended up sitting side-on to Steve, facing out into his lab. "Yeah, but only a little." He said quietly. "I'm fifty one, with a seven year old child. There's shrapnel in my chest, a device that has already nearly succeeded in killing me in the past, a liver shot to hell thanks to my early years of drinking myself unconscious, dangerously high cholesterol and a family history of heart disease. Oh, and did I mention that I happen to spend every other day flying around in a metal suit whilst things shoot at me? Let's do the math here – I'll be lucky to reach my seventies. I kinda want to live to see my little girl grow up, but I have to be realistic, don't I?" He shrugged. "I know that you guys would all be there for her, but Loki and I had always planned that when I'm gone he'd still be here. We'd always planned for her to have at least one parent at any point in her life. I won't live forever, but she will, and that's going to be bloody lonely now that her mum's gone."

"E…Evie will live forever?"

"Yeah, didn't I mention that earlier? Huh, sorry." He certainly didn't sound sorry. "So yeah, she's going to live for ever, losing everyone she knows and loves. Loki was meant to be with her throughout that, to help her. She's not got any of his powers or anything, just his longevity. She doesn't know yet, so please don't say anything."

Steve shook his head. "No…No, of course not." He ran a hand through his hair with a shaky sigh. "I…Well…"

"Stuttering isn't a good look on you, Cap."

"_Fucking hell Tony_!"

_That_ caught Tony's attention alright. He could count the number of times he'd heard Steve swear on one hand.

"What do you want me to say?" The Captain continued, oblivious of shocking his friend. "You _know_ that the rest of us would do anything for Evie – she'd never be left alone. Thor's immortal, I may well be, Bruce might well be, she'll be fine. You can't really think we'd just leave her." He held up a hand, stopping Tony's response. "But I can see that you're stressed, and tired, and you've hit a dead end that's driving you slowly insane. So stop staring at computer screens, act like a human being and tell me the problem you're having and maybe, just _maybe_ I can _help_ you!"

Tony stared at him, before slowly leaning back and folding his arms. "Finished?"

"Yeah. Yeah I am."

"Good." He spun back to face the screens, almost as if he was wiping the whole conversation out like so much chalk on a board. He had never dealt well with other people's emotions, especially when they were because of him.

"Um…"

"Do you really want to help?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Right, then listen good, because I'm about to put this in layman's terms and expect you to keep up."

Steve nodded, leaning forwards to rest his elbows on his knees. He wasn't entirely sure what planet Tony was currently orbiting, but it could well have something to do with the three espresso mugs sitting on his desk.

"Right, okay." Said overly-caffeinated man tapped on one of the screens. "This, like I said, is IC 1101, and is 1.07 billion light years away. A light year is a fuckton of miles, so essentially he's so far away I can't even say all of the zeroes on the number in one breath. Get me so far?"

"Galaxy far far away, got it."

"Good," Tony smiled slightly. "And nice StarWars reference. There are no other places that we know of that are in the distance parameters so this galaxy is our best bet. Now, aside from the obvious fact that mankind only just got to the moon so fuck knows how we'd get there, there is another very big problem. Big being the appropriate word really, since this is the biggest known galaxy in the universe. And Loki could be _anywhere_ within it. Any planet, moon, asteroid or floating piece of space dust. Which sucks."

"Um…Yeah, just a bit."

"Well, yeah, simply put, I'm well and truly stuck. This is impossible."

"Is there anything I can say to persuade you otherwise?"

"I don't _know_, Steve." Tony groaned. He turned his head slightly to smile crookedly at his friend. "What would you do, if you were me?"

"I wouldn't have the first clue."

"Yeah, of course. But what would sound sensible to you?"

Steve shrugged, glancing at the photos and equations scattered across the screens. "Why ask me? Wouldn't Bruce have more of an idea?"

"Nah, Bruce knows the limit of the possible. But _you, _old man, _you_ still haven't quite got to grips with just how much science can do, so you aren't blinkered by preconceived notions of what is and isn't possible." He grinned a little more genuinely now. "So, hit me, what've you got?"

"Uh…" The soldier blinked and stared at the screens again, not having expected this at all. Whilst he had caught up with the major technological advances that had occurred during his hibernation (his face upon seeing the video of the moon landing was something Tony would never forget) he had no real interest in the science behind it all. In his mind it somewhat took the magic away. So when faced with his friend's rather intense and questioning gaze he had to think on his feet.

"Um, I saw on some Discovery Channel documentary that we can now tell if planets could support life, right?" He asked slowly. He saw Tony nod and continued on a little more solidly. "Okay, so if it's possible to scan things in space for – I don't know – atmosphere, water, that sort of thing, then couldn't you do that? Scan this galaxy for planets that could hold life?"

Tony gave him the same smile that he used when his daughter said something cute yet utterly wrong. "That would be a plan, Steve, if it weren't for the fact that we can barely see the galaxy from here, let alone start scanning for life or whatever. We'd be scanning back in time too. It takes light 1.07 billion years to reach us from there, so what we see here-" He indicated at the screens. "-is actually a snapshot billions of years into this galaxy's past."

"Yeah, so? I read that life here supposedly started over 3 billion years ago; so even if you're looking back in time to a planet in that galaxy it would still have a liveable atmosphere, even if the chitauri hadn't evolved on it yet, right?" Steve ploughed on mercilessly, the ideas now flowing a little easier. "Surely a scan would pick up on basic water or oxygen and you could go from there. I mean, I assume the chitauri breathe oxygen, since they coped here well enough without breathing gear as far as I could see."

Tony blinked at him a few times. "Huh."

"Good 'huh' or bad 'huh'?"

The inventor bit the inside of his cheek, a frown drawing his brows together as he seemed to seriously consider what Steve had said, but also entirely missing the small question. "Okay. Say that could work." He began slowly. "There's still the problem of none of our telescopes being able to see in good enough clarity to even begin to do that." He didn't pose it as a counter-argument though; rather he seemed to be expecting the soldier to have a response.

Steve tried to rise to the challenge again, but decided this time that he needed more information for this round. "Why not? What are the problems with our telescopes?"

"Can't get a clear enough sky if we mount them on Earth and can't use a big enough mirror if we put them in space." Tony replied promptly.

That seemed clear enough. To a man who had spent his childhood pre-WW2 making toy telescopes out of card tubes and Dad's shaving mirror he at least understood the principle. "Can't you use a bigger mirror on an Earth based one then?"

"Defects; the surface of said mirror has to be _perfect_. Like, atomically perfect. A smaller mirror can get away with imperfections, but the bigger it is A) the harder it is to physically make and B) the more the imperfections count. Humans just can't build something like that. We don't have the materials."

"Pretend for a moment that you did. Then what would you do?"

And _there_ it was.

The sudden light that flared in Ironman's eyes as he turned to stare intently at the images of the galaxy again. The light that had been missing for far too long.

"Even if it was possible, there's still the question on where on Earth would we put it? All the best observatory spots are taken." He almost sounded like he was talking to himself now, tapping his chin with one finger.

"Why put it on Earth? Can't it go in space?"

"Not something that big – it'd be a sitting duck for the first asteroid. Unless…" He tilted his head to one side. "Unless…I was to put it far from the asteroid belt. If it were launched from something so far away, so far out in the solar system that….Heh!" He slapped his hand on the desk. "I've just found a use for Pluto!"

Steve snorted softly.

"Infrared spectroscopy could then be used to detect water. And I could tweak it to do the same for oxygen." Tony continued. Then he paused. "Although…this is only theoretical, of course." His metaphorical tail drooped back down again.

There was a whirring noise as Dummy raised it's arm again, this time holding up one of the laminated flash-cards that Tony had made for the various non-vocal bots in the labs.

_Why?_

"Why what, buddy? Why's all this only theoretical?"

Dummy nodded, making Steve smile at the quirky robot.

"Well, because making all that stuff is impossible. No one can make a mirror that big and how the hell would it get into space anyway."

Dummy ducked down to grab another card. This one made Steve burst out laughing.

_You're Tony Stark._

"I can't believe you have a flashcard for that."

The inventor shrugged. "It comes in handy." He turned back to the robot. "And I don't know what _you're_ getting at. Just because I invented a new element doesn't mean that I create the physically impossible and build something like that. The materials don't exist."

Dummy drooped with a little _moue _of sadness. However, where Tony seemed to be looking at the problem as if it were an impossible mountain to climb, Steve had the opportunity of a fresh mind that wasn't obsessed with the problem.

Sometimes all an impossible conundrum needs is an abstract approach from someone who doesn't understand the reasons of why it's impossible. Which explained why Tony looked like he'd seen a ghost when Steve casually asked:

"Wouldn't the Asgardian's have the means and methods to make a mirror like that?"

Stark stared at him.

Dummy looked up again, before hastily grabbing a card with the Facebook Like sign on it.

"Well, would they?"

"I…" Tony's hand came up to comb through his hair once again. It was rare that someone else's suggestion could floor him in such a manner.

He knew the myths of the Norse Gods and he knew the truth behind them as told by Thor and Loki. There was more to Steve's idea than perhaps Steve had even realised. Mjonir was made from a material that – according to the most state-of-the-art scanners Tony possessed – didn't technically exist. And who the hell knew how Thor's magically appearing armour worked. It certainly wasn't ordinary steel, that was for sure.

"Jarvis…?" Tony sounded like he was dreaming; that sort of far-away slow voice people used when either on the verge of a complete breakthrough or a stroke.

"Sir, Mr Rodgers has a point. There is a lot that we don't know about Asgardian technology. If the mythology is correct then it is more than likely they could have the means to produce such a mirror." Jarvis said quickly. "The ancient stories speak of items magically procured and created that would otherwise be impossible. There is nothing to say that this couldn't also be the case."

"I…Wow…Oh wow."

"Tony?" Steve was beginning to grow concerned at the vacant expression on his friend's face. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" The inventor was staring into the middle-distance, his hands sketching out an invisible object that only he could see. "Oh boy, this could _work_!"

"What? Really?"

Stark's uncharacteristic stillness became sudden movement as he dived for the interactive computer screen and began to open up multiple programs at once. "Jarvis, get me Thor! Right now! Like, five minutes ago!"

"On it, sir!" Jarvis' voice made it clear that if he had hands he would have saluted.

Tony clapped his hands together with a whoop and spun on his chair to pull Steve into a tight hug. "Captain fucking America! No clue what astrophysics even means and you come up with the best plan yet! I love you man!"

"Uh, great?" The captain managed to laugh in his friend's strangle-hold.

"Thor's on his way down, sir." Jarvis announced triumphantly and Tony cheered again, letting go of Steve to spin round on his chair like a five year old.

"We're going to _space_, boys!"

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Of course, things are never that easy.

It took a while to make Thor understand exactly what Tony wanted, since he demanded to know all of the details, which involved an in-depth lecture into the mechanics of telescopes. After a detour around the Hubble website and a high school-level physics lesson the God seemed to grasp the concept and was on-board with the plan. He wasn't entirely certain that Wayland – smith to the Gods – would be able to procure such a mirror, but if not he made it clear that the dwarves could.

By this point Bruce had come down to see what all the fuss was about and had instantly seen both the possibilities and the draw-backs of the whole scheme, but was keen to help out.

Mostly by pointing out what he saw to be an obvious flaw.

"_How_ are you intending to launch a satellite from Pluto?"

Tony just looked at him. "I'm Tony Stark, Brucie. I'll do it."

"Yes, I'm not disputing that. I just want to know _how_."

"Rocket. May take a few years to get there but I'm pretty certain I can build something to get it there quicker than anything NASA currently has."

Thor looked between the two scientists with his brow furrowed.

"I do not understand your problem." He stated. "We can simply use the Bifrost. The rock you named Pluto is still within the same realm so Heimdall would have no trouble to take us there."

"Huh." Tony looked at the sketchy image of the satellite he'd drawn up quickly and then back to Thor. "That would work. Remind me to get you to tell me how the whole 'realm' thing works again at some point." He added. "Okay, Bifrost, that's a thing. Definitely a thing we can do." He pushed Dummy away as the robot tried to muscle in and add to the drawing. "Can it open anywhere on Earth or is a New Mexico thing only?"

"There is only one access point to each world, I'm afraid, so we would have to go back to the newer of the two Mexico's."

Bruce stifled a snort of amusement at the phrasing, but Tony was scribbling hastily on another scrap piece of paper.

"Right, okay. So you'd have to bring the mirror through in New Mexico, and we'd have to get the finished satellite back there for the Bifrost. Hey, we might as well build the damn thing there."

Steve raised an eyebrow at him. "Is there a facility there where you could do that?"

He inventor grinned and winked at Thor. For a moment the God frowned in confusion, before his expression cleared into a beaming grin.

"Miss Jane Foster!"

"Does she know the situation? Have you told her that you've suddenly gained a niece?"

"No. I wasn't certain how many people you wanted aware of Evelyn's true parentage."

Tony grinned. "Maybe it's time you two caught up then."

MWMWMWMWMWMW

Jane would be the first one to admit that things had been less than usual since Thor had burst into her life all those years ago. Admittedly, that first infatuation had faded away into a deep friendship, but they were still close and still kept in constant contact. Which was why she was somewhat pissed that he was _only now _deciding to tell her about the events of the past few months, including the return and subsequent loss of his psychotic little brother.

Or not so psychotic, apparently.

She was still working as a Shield consultant, had more funding than the little team knew what to do with, and was _almost_ used to the strange requests her bosses sometimes made regarding extra-terrestrial business. Even so, Thor's appeal probably topped the list she kept of 'weird shit that I really shouldn't have to deal with'. And it was quite a full list already.

However, she wasn't the sort to deny a friend a favour not matter how absurd or difficult, and there was no way that she would pass up on the chance to meet _the_ Tony Stark. So within a week she had coerced some of the Shield lackeys who worked with her as part of their training into clearing out the large warehouse they usually used to store their trucks in and had spoken to NASA to acquire some of the parts that she'd been told her new house-guests would need.

Thank God – or Gods, she doubted all that religious stuff now – that Stark and who-ever he was bringing were making their own accommodation arrangements. A group of Stark Industries people had shown up as soon as the warehouse was ready and converted the upper gantry into a basic living space, and as far as Jane was aware anyone extra would be in the nearby B and B. As long as she didn't have to provide dinner or anything then maybe this situation could provide beneficial. At the very least she'd be able to watch first-hand Tony Stark creating everything from nothing and maybe – just _maybe_ – she might be able to get her hands on some state-of-the-art tech if she played her cards right.

And all for the sake of Thor's homicidal, sociopathic freak of a little brother.

That was the part she wasn't too happy about.

Although, to be fair, Eric was even _less_ happy than she was, so she couldn't really complain.

WMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM

It took two months before everything was ready. The New Mexico facility was suddenly full of crates with the Stark Industries logo along the sides and suddenly there were more Shield personal than usual around the site.

Jane made sure she was there personally to greet her guests when they arrived. Darcy joined her of course, and Eric stopped sulking long enough to want to see Thor despite still hating the reason for all the changes.

The first impression Stark made on the small team was…not what they were expecting.

Rather than a huge convoy of tinted-window super cars they expected, there were just three Jeep hybrids that looked like something Coulson would have once driven. Tony himself was equally smaller than he seemed on TV. Of course, usually they saw him in the suit, but if it weren't for the glow through the smart shirt he wore he would have looked like any other businessman.

However what no one in the small welcoming party expected was the little girl trotting along beside the famous Ironman, holding tight to his hand. Jane hadn't expected the child to be brought along too.

Evelyn Stark was famously kept out of the public eye, everything about her secret and protected. It was a shock to see her alongside her father, although with the amount of Shield agents around there wouldn't be any paparazzi within a two mile radius. She was a normal kid too; none of the designer clothes and shoes that so famously adorned celebrity children, but just a nice shop-bought pair of flowery leggings and a little duffle coat that was obviously chosen for warmth rather than fashion. She was chattering nineteen to the dozen too, but quieted down in favour of shyness when she and her father reached the Foster-team.

"Mr Stark." Jane smiled and held her hand out in greeting. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Likewise Dr Foster." Rather than shaking the proffered hand, Tony high-fived her. "Love your work on Einstein-Rosen bridges and you have my undying friendship for managing to run Thor over twice. Something I have yet to achieve. Although this little one-" Here he ruffled Evie's hair. "-managed to almost suck him into a jet engine by accident."

That drew a muffled snort of laughter from Darcy and Jane grinned. "I wish I'd seen that." She smiled at Evie who shyly returned the expression.

"It's all on the security files; remind me to show you sometime." Tony clapped his hands then rubbed them together. "So, are we all set to make a satellite?"

"Uh, well we've set all your stuff up like you asked."

"Good enough. We dropped Thor off at the Bifrost site with the specs for the mirror we'll need so hopefully he'll be back in a few days with news on how possible it will be." He looked up at the large warehouse. "I've calculated that it's going to take me a year or so to make this thing, I hope you can put up with me for that long."

Jane cast a swift sideways glance to Darcy and grinned. "I'm sure I've put up with worse, Mr Stark."

"Ah, Tony, please. Mr Stark is a stuffy business man; whereas I happen to be an eccentric genius."

"Well, this place is certainly full of eccentricity."

"Capital! We'll get on like a house on fire then!"

The two scientists smiled at each other and this time Tony shook her hand properly.

"First stop, Pluto, the next; another galaxy!"

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

_They knew._

_He was surprised it had taken them this long to realise, but in retrospect their anatomy was entirely different to his own so maybe it made sense that they had taken a while to work it out._

_They knew he could bear children. And now their torturous intent was riddled with morbid curiosity as to what this could mean. Could the chitauri genome be mixed?_

_For the first time since surrendering, the thoughts of his family didn't provide comfort. With his ruined hands pressed on his slightly swollen stomach Loki wanted nothing more than to die. _

No.

_The dark hopelessness was almost all encompassing, except for one tiny sliver of white that flashed through his mind. It was hot and angry and _would not be squashed_._

_As much as he wanted to die, there was still a thought that wanted otherwise; a thought that said _'no'_. _

_Hatred._

_It can be said that love is the strongest emotion on which all else is hinged, but pure unadulterated hatred can be almost as strong. And as much as Loki wished to end it all he wished for revenge against the beasts that had done this more._

_He wasn't going to give in as easily as they wanted. They could break his body as much as they liked but damn them all he wasn't going to let them destroy his mind._

_The spell he had cast curled protectively around him, preserving his sanity as he leant back against the rough blood soaked wall and felt the _creature_ inside him move._

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM

**Urgh, I had to pull all my old astro-physics work out to remember all the stuff about telescopes. It's times like this where being obsessed with getting details right is really **_**really**_** annoying!**

**Also, Loki's not looking too great, is he? Do you guys want to see some proper pieces with what's happening to him or are these little snippets better? If I wrote out fuller bits then there would be some full on torture scenes. That's why I'm only showing the highlights, as it were. Anyway, let me know. Torture or no torture?**

**Ooh; random question! I was having a lovely chat with one of my reviewers and it turns out we live only a few hours apart! I'll admit to automatically assuming that all of you are American unless you tell me otherwise (I don't know why, I'm British myself) so if you leave a review, please add where abouts you're from, I'd love to see what sort of worldwide spread we've got going on here :) Hey, it may turn out we live in the same town or something!**


	12. Chapter 12

**And the votes are in for….No torture scenes! You didn't think that would stop me from finding a way to add a **_**little**_** bit of gore, though, did you?**

**Warning; gore. Because I couldn't resist, but it isn't a torture scene, because I listen to you guys.**

**Also: I'm a biochemist. I have no idea why I decided to vomit astrophysics all over this story because it was never my best subject. However, since I'm steering clear of the maths (I'm great with theory, I'm pants at maths!) we should be alright *thumbs up*. I know how it all works, I just couldn't do it myself :D **

**Love each and every one of you, by the way! The reviews make me so **_**so**_** happy, I can't even begin to tell you! And the faves and favourite too – seeing a full inbox absolutely makes my day when I realise the weird stuff my brain spouts out is succeeding in entertaining people!**

It would have been useful if there was a book called _Satellites and Telescopes for Dummies._ As brilliant as Tony Stark was, it still took him a few days to read up on enough NASA material (Jarvis broke down the firewalls like they were made of paper) to know where to start. Thor hadn't returned by the time he started construction, so he began with making the smaller components.

Thank God he was a billionaire…

Even once he'd got his head around what to do it took a further week or so to get the workshop up and running the way he wanted. The upper gantry of the warehouse had become a decent living area that Tony had taken some time-out to child-proof and the main warehouse was full of robotic bits and pieces. If one looked carefully enough it was possible to see that some of the robots were building others; one of the most crucial aspects of the project being to make a scaffold on which to make the satellite itself.

One thing Tony also had to take into consideration was the disruption all this was causing to his daughter. Leaving her back in New York, even in the capable hands of the other Avengers, wasn't an option, so he had had to compromise with living in the New Mexico lab the working days of the week, then taking the girl home each weekend. This meant that Evie could switch round her toys and clothes if she wanted to, and could still go to her weekend activities. In the meantime Jarvis had also worked out a new school time-table for her that would work alongside her moving between states twice a week.

Once again; thank God Tony was a billionaire. With a private jet that could fly at Mach 2 it took less than half an hour for the journey.

Evie understood what was happening, mostly. She had already been showing the same tech-savvy that Tony had shown at the same age, although with her own twist on things, of course. The girl was absolutely excellent at following complex mechanical instructions and only needed to be shown how to do something once. She could just see how things went together, how they worked. However, they had discovered pretty early on that she had no inventive spark what-so-ever. Whilst she could fix things and put together things that already existed, she so far hadn't shown any sign of inventive genius.

Tony still hoped that it would happen.

What this meant, however, was that the child was often found in the workshop when not in lessons, helping her father with some of the simpler things that would later make their satellite. This did not impress Jarvis one little bit.

"Sir, I am perfectly capable of becoming angry and I am beginning to do so!"

Tony was lying half-under the large armature that would eventually become the support for the solar panels (eventually it would be arc-reactor powered, of course, but the panels provided a good backup). His voice was muffled. "It's fine, Jarv, shut up."

"No sir! I will not be silenced on this matter! Miss Evelyn is late for her science lesson!"

Stark pulled himself out from under the machine enough to wink at his daughter. "Jarvis, my dear darling Jarvis. Evie is helping me build a _deep space satellite_. This kicks the ass of any other science-fair project I've ever seen! This counts as a science lesson. Right, Birdie?"

Evie looked up, grinned and nodded. She had a partially put-together circuit board in her hands; Tony had coached her through the simple ones and left her to it.

Jarvis audibly sniffed snootily. "Very well, if you insist, sir. And for the record I believe Michio Kaku's science-fair project is the most kick-ass ever. It most certainly beat your third grade jet engine."

"You traitor!"

"Of course sir. In the meanwhile I shall use my sudden spare time to perfect my Project Skynet."

"Jarvis…Sometimes you scare me."

"I know sir, consider it one of the perks of the job."

There was laughter from the large doorway into the warehouse and Tony heaved himself out from under the machine to see Bruce approaching with a mug of coffee, beaker of orange juice and large plate of biscuits.

"Sounds like you're busy in here." The physicist handed the drinks to their respective recipients and sat down cross-legged on the floor. "What's this bit?" He looked up at the complex machinery.

"Supports for the solar panels. At the moment I'm still making the robots that will make the satellite itself." Tony wiped his oily hands on an old piece of cloth and picked up a cookie. "I can't really just knock something together on the floor – it needs all the rigs and gantries for support first. So I'm building all that. The plan is that once the scaffolds are done Jarvis can automate the putting together of the actual satellite."

"As if I didn't have enough to do already, sir."

"Oh don't put on that 'world weary' voice, Jarvis. It doesn't suit you."

"Of course not, sir."

Bruce smiled again. No matter how much work there was to be done, Jarvis was always Tony's first point of call. At least something's never changed.

"So, how long do you think this will all take?"

Tony took a deep sip of coffee before looking back up at the piece he'd been working on. A sombre expression crossed his face.

"A while." He flicked the metal with his finger. "The scaffolds and armature will take maybe six months to fully assemble, then the telescope will be another eight or so months to fully put together and test. Assuming Thor can get the mirror in time that is. Then another month or two to get the damn thing up into space. All in all we're looking at approximately two years' work just to get this thing up and running."

"And once it's up there?"

At that question Tony smiled again. "Ah, I think I'm onto a winner there. Jarv, put it up on the screens."

The two large monitors on the desk next to them lit up and a complex stream of equations sprawled across the screens. At a first glance it was somewhat reminiscent of the Matrix. Bruce got up on his knees to get a better look, frowning as he tried to make sense of the compound calculations. He mouthed a couple of the longer strings of algebra to himself before letting out an 'oh' of understanding.

"These are atmospheric coefficients."

"Bingo."

"But you're factoring time into the equation?"

Tony picked up a wrench that was long enough for him to point at various parts of the calculations without having to get up. "The thinking is that once the telescope is running it can scan the atmospheres on the planets and such in galaxy IC11001, then Jarvis can use these equations to calculate what the atmospheres may have evolved into. That way we'll have a more accurate idea of what the planets might currently look like and therefore which ones we need to take a closer look at."

"Hmm, smart."

"Of course."

"Daddy's always smart." Evie held up her circuit board. "And I'm finished." She handed it to her father who looked it over critically, then connected it to his StarkPad. The tablet whistled at him and Evie beamed at the confirmation that her piece of electronics worked.

"Good work, birdie." Tony slid back under the machine and slotted the little section into place. He held a hand out and she high-fived him. "Team Stark!"

"Winter is coming." Bruce quipped, then grinned as his friend glared at him and the girl looked confused.

"Enough with the Game of Thrones jokes, or I'm going back to calling you the Jolly Green Giant."

"You never stopped calling me that."

Tony pulled himself back out and sat up. "Huh. True." He glanced at the screens again – with their scrolling equations – and then at the mess of blue-prints surrounding them on the floor. "You know, this baby will need a name when it goes up into space. I'm sure I could cope with _one_ more joke. Give it your best shot."

"You seriously want a Game of Thrones reference as the name for your kick-ass, God-saving satellite?" Bruce asked sceptically. When he just received a big grin in return he sighed and tried to remember the details from when he had last read the books. "Uh…Well, you're Stark's, so the banner for the House Stark is a direwolf…?"

"Direwolf…" Tony turned the name around a few times then looked at Evie. "What do you think, Evie?"

"Sounds like a werewolf." The girl clearly didn't have a clue what the two men were talking about in terms of the references, but took the question seriously. "Werewolves are cool and you can't kill them, are direwolfs like that?"

"Pretty much."

"Okay then, I like it."

Tony whooped and fist-bumped Bruce. "We have a name! Jarvis; rename all pertinent files 'Project Direwolf' then write letters to HBO and George Martin asking if that's cool with them. Can't see why it wouldn't be; after all, how many other books and TV shows have a satellite named after them?"

"Right away, sir." Jarvis sounded as near as he ever did to amused. "Project Direwolf has been created."

"Hell yeah!"

Evie tilted her head to one side thoughtfully. "Daddy, can I watch Game of Thrones now? You said I couldn't before, but now our telescope's going to be called after it, so can I watch it?"

A mental film-reel played in Tony's head. Blood, sex, a bit more blood, a lot more sex, some confusing politics and – oh! – He forgot the blood and sex! "Nooo…Not yet. I don't think you'd understand a lot of it. Wait until you're a bit older, birdie."

_Like, until you're in your thirties…_

MWMWMWMWMWMMWWMWMWM

It was dark. Extremely dark, which in turn was odd.

Tony had almost forgotten what real darkness was like. He was so used to the little night-light sitting in his chest that chased all the shadows away. But it was dark.

He slowly sat up, hands pushing away bed-covers that he could feel but not see. Even under his pyjama T-shirt the light would still be glowing, but there was just _nothing. _Surely he should be worried? Without his arc-reactor he would die, that was something to worry about, wasn't it?

Or not. Even as the thought occurred his chest was already lighting up – as if responding to his train of thought.

Unusual to say the least….

A low groan nearby caught Tony's attention, taking his mind away from his misbehaving reactor as he tried to peer through the gloom.

"Hello?" The single word was swallowed up by the darkness and he rolled his eyes. Right, no way was he going to conform to horror-movie stereotypes. "Jarvis, lights."

Nothing.

"Jarvis..?" Okay. Straight back into horror-movie set-up then. He had definitely heard someone else in the room and it hadn't been a happy sound so surely the sensible thing would be to find out who, what and why.

The man pulled himself to the edge of the bed and swung his legs over the side, automatically fishing around for his slippers. However, his foot didn't connect with the shoes and found only carpet.

Wet…cold…carpet.

"What…?" Tony leant over, the small light from his reactor highlighting enough for him to see that when he lifted his foot up it was stained red. "What the hell?"

There was that moan again, low and drawn out, a sound of pure pain drawing his gaze back up to the darkened room. Slowly the man put his foot back down on the sodden carpet before standing up and taking a cautious step forwards. The small light illuminated a stretch of floor infront of him as he carefully made his way towards the source of the noise.

There.

Pale against the dark carpet was an out flung hand, fingers twitching minutely. Tony crouched down slowly, the scent of blood assaulting his nose and making him grimace. He leant forwards enough for his arc reactor to illuminate the rest of the scene.

"Jesus fucking Christ!"

The man scrambled backwards with an exclamation of pure horror, one hand coming up to cover his mouth. His back hit the edge of the bed and for a long moment he just pressed up against it, shaking his head furiously and biting down on his knuckles to muffle the scream that was desperate to force its way out.

No. _No_! This couldn't be happening!

Loki was lying on the floor, face up so that he was staring up at the ceiling, one arm fallen to his side and out-stretched in a silent plea.

There was so much blood.

His stomach was sliced open, a cut that ran from chest to groin and spilt entrails across the floor. Through the gaping wound it was possible to see his lungs desperately trying to pull in air, his heart frantically trying to do its job.

"Please…God _no_…" Tony's voice came out as a broken sob. "This isn't real! This _isn't real_!" He gripped his hair, chest heaving as he felt himself beginning to hyperventilate.

Loki tried to speak, but all that happed was a strangled gasp, blood bubbling up his throat and making him choke. The coughing motion caused something inside him to shift and another coil of intestines slithered to the floor, red and slick in the light of the arc reactor. There was no sign on his face that he realised his own innards were surrounding him; he was far too gone for that.

"Loki…" Tony was barely able to choke the name out, his pulse hammering in his ears as he struggled to breathe through the terror of the situation. He couldn't move, couldn't think. Someone was whimpering and he was pretty certain that it was his own voice.

_This can't be happening_!

Loki's shallow gasps were slowing, the movement of his lungs in his ripped chest cavity decreasing rapidly. Even as Tony watched the broken ribcage slowed and stopped in it's rise and fall action, a small sigh leaving the trickster's blood-filled mouth. His head lolled and fell to the side, exposing the other side of his face and the gaping hole where his other eye should have been.

Dead.

Tony screamed. Not the deep cry that most males trot out when in pain or scared but a real _scream_. All horror and fear and agony.

Loki was _dead_! Gutted like a fish, intestines spilling across the floor in thick shiny ropes. _Dead_.

Stark curled in on himself, gripping his hair in both hands until it was tearing at the roots. The scream wasn't stopping; he _couldn't_ stop it. Even when he long ran out of breath to sustain it the soundless shriek continued, silent and broken.

"Be gone." The smooth and above all calm voice seemed so out of place as to be ludicrous.

Tony raised his head enough to see golden light banishing the surrounding darkness. The corpse flickered slightly – like an out of tune TV.

"I said; _be gone_!" There was force to the order this time and the body vanished completely, taking the blood-stain with it.

"What…?" His head hurt, his throat hurt, his eyes hurt, and damn it all but his _heart_ hurt. Tony managed to look up, his face blotchy with tears and pain.

Loki was standing next to him, sceptre in hand and staring at the spot where the corpse had lain. He was dressed in his full battle armour – helmet and all – with a dark expression. That, however, lightened when he looked down at the human still curled up against the bed.

"Tony?" His voice was soft, warm. "It's gone, Tony." When he didn't receive a reply he crouched down, discarding his sceptre on the floor and removing his helmet. Slowly he reached out and untangled the hair from Tony's fingers, applying enough gentle pressure to persuade the man to lower his hands down to his lap. "It's gone; I'm here now."

"No you aren't."

The God let go of one of the shaking hands to cup his lover's cheek. "Tony-"

"No. You aren't here. You aren't real. That…that _thing_ was more real than you are." Tony whispered. His voice was shuddering as he refused to make eye contact. "That's what's really happening to you right now. They're turning you into that. I may already be too late. You could be dead right now for all I know."

"I'm not dead."

"You're a dream! You can only tell me what I know myself!"

"And you know I'm not dead." The soft British accent didn't change from it's soothing cadence, even as Tony grew more agitated. "I'm not dead because I know that despite my asking you not to, you are currently doing your damnedest to rescue me. I'm not dead because I am holding on for you."

"This is just a dream…" Tony blinked when he felt lips press against his forehead in such a familiar gesture that all the pain that was just beginning to ebb away came flooding back. "Please don't leave me."

"I'm not going anywhere."

He felt warm arms wrap around him, armour melting away to the soft tunic that Loki wore under it. Tony took a deep shuddering breath, falling against the solid weight of his lover.

"It's okay, I'm here now. The nightmare's gone and I'm here."

"Only until I wake up." The man whispered. "Only until I wake up."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Tony refused to sleep for nearly three full days, running on red-bull, coffee and sheer determination.

The mere thought of another nightmare on those proportions persuaded him to work himself to exhaustion in the hopes of producing a dreamless sleep.

He felt like he was falling back into his old pre-Avengers habits.

MWMWMWMMWMWMWMWMWMMW

Jane Foster stood by the bank of computers in the warehouse-turned-workshop watching the small scene silently.

Amongst all of the huge machinery and boxes there was a small sofa, swamped in blankets and currently occupied by a sleeping Tony Stark. On the table next to him was a steaming hot mug of coffee.

Jane frowned at the hot beverage – wondering where it had come from. A noise from the desk area by the sofa made her circle a stack of crates to see Evie standing on tiptoe and operating a sandwich toaster that sat on the work-top.

"Evelyn?"

The girl didn't seem in the least surprised to hear someone else in the area, although she glanced at Jane momentarily to check who it was.

"Daddy's asleep. You'll have to wait if you want to talk to him." The machine beeped and the girl carefully slipped the hot toastie onto a plate. The food was then placed next to the mug of coffee. Jane frowned.

"Do you do this often?"

"Do what?"

"Sort out food for your Dad when he's fallen asleep in the lab?"

Evie looked at Tony, then back at the woman. "No. This is the first time. I wanted to do something to help and Jarvis suggested food. He worked the coffee machine for me and the toaster wasn't tricky."

Jane reached over to turn the electrical appliance off at the power connection. "No, but it's dangerous; you could have burnt yourself."

"I'm seven, I'm not an idiot."

The sulky comment made the woman smile. "I know you aren't, I'm sorry. I'm just worried that a seven year old is using a coffee maker and toaster unsupervised."

"Jarvis did the coffee for me, I told you. And he told me how to use the toaster safely." Evie folded her arms grumpily. She and the physicist had had little contact up until this point, and Jane felt that she wasn't making the best of impressions on the child. "Daddy always makes me breakfast and today I woke up first. So I wanted to make him breakfast."

"That was very sweet of you."

Evie frowned slightly. "Are you going to be my Auntie?"

"I…What?"

"If you and Uncle Thor get married, then will you be my Auntie?"

Jane sat down on one of the crates, wondering if it was worth pouring herself a cup of coffee. She had only come in to have a word with Tony, and most certainly hadn't expected to be accosted by a small child.

"We're not going to get married."

Evie sat down on the floor next to the crates, easily tapping the pass-word into Tony's tablet and finding Angry Birds. "But if you do."

"We won't. And anyway I heard that your uh…'Mum' doesn't like Thor all that much."

"Móhðy and Uncle Thor just need to talk. That's what Daddy says." The girl didn't look up from her game. "But quite a lot of people don't like Móhðy, so I don't mind if you say you don't like him."

Jane thought momentarily of the Destroyer stalking down the high-street – killing people without a care. She remembered the terror she'd felt as it easily batted away the Asgardian warriors and then as Thor had walked towards it, entreating to a brother who simply didn't want to listen anymore. And she remembered how the machine had thrown Thor down nearly half the street, a blow hard enough to effectively kill him. All guided by Loki.

"I've never met your…Móhðy." She stumbled over the pronunciation of the Norse word. "I don't like to make a judgement before I meet someone. Do you think he'd like me to be your Auntie?"

Evie shrugged. "Probably. You're smart. He likes smart people. And Uncle Thor likes you."

"He'd like me because Thor does?"

"I guess so. And I like you. I wouldn't mind if you married Uncle Thor."

Jane smiled at that. It was apparently quite difficult to persuade a small child brought up on Disney that a man and a woman could just be friends without all the true love stuff.

"Thor's getting married?" The sleepy voice came from the sofa and Tony's head emerged from the pile of blankets. "When did that happen?"

"It didn't, Evie's speculating."

"Oh, shame. You two would make a cute couple." The inventor pulled himself upright and eyes the coffee and toastie – still quite warm – in confusion. "These for me?"

"Yup. I made them." Evie said with a grin.

Tony looked back at the breakfast again, then opened his arms wide. "Come here, you!"

As the child eagerly dashed over for a hug, Jane smiled sadly. She knew next to nothing of Loki as a person, but everything she did know just didn't fit into the picture of a loving parent with a sweet and curious child. But maybe she could understand why getting the wayward God back meant so much to the father/daughter duo.

When Evie went back to her tablet and Tony started sipping his coffee the woman cleared her throat.

"Tony, Thor's come back. He's eating at the moment and has refused to say a word about what happened until he sees you."

The inventor paused mid-sip. "Was he happy or upset?"

"Hyperactive."

"Probably good news then."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

It was, for once.

The Dwarves were apparently more than able to make the mirror required, and as a price had requested a large quantity of plastic and instructions on how to make more of it. In Tony's eyes it was the bargain of the century, but the Dwarves – still living in a world that was essentially the middle ages – knew the true value of the material in their work.

However, to make a mirror that was smooth and flawless down to the atomic level would take time.

"_How_ long?!"

"Eighteen months, give or take." Thor said glumly. "They say that that will be the very least to get the work done to the quality you demand. It will be a difficult job."

I appreciate that, but _still_. That puts production back again." Tony ran a hand through his rumpled hair. "We're looking at two _years_ before I can get this thing into space at this rate. I can't let…That's too long." The hastily cut-off _but I can't let Loki suffer for that long_ hung in the air between them.

"You're doing everything you can, Tony, that's all anyone could ever ask of you."

"Still…"

Tactfully, the God decided to change the subject. They were seated up in the living area above the workshop, slumped in the sofas surrounding a small coffee table.

"My parents asked me to pass on their regards to you."

"Oh? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"A fairly good thing I would say."

Tony frowned slightly. "And they're okay with the whole dude-on-dude thing? I'm not quite sure where Norse Gods stand on gay relationships. Views are mixed on whether or not Vikings accepted it or not."

Thor snorted slightly. "It was your Christianity that had a problem with same-sex relationships. On Asgard it is not considered unusual for men or women to seek out the same gender. A citizen is expected to marry and produce children, but fidelity in said marriage is not necessarily kept."

"I thought Loki had some trouble being gay?"

The God looked uncomfortable. "That would likely be because he would act in a manner that was seen as less than manly. His fighting style and use of magic were both considered 'womanly'. For him to then prefer male companionship…Well, he didn't do himself any favours."

"And being a hermaphrodite can't have helped matters." Tony said acidly. He was gratified to see Thor wince. "After all, he'd taken enough time to convince himself that he was male and then people belittled him without even knowing the truth."

"He never put it like that…" The God mumbled. "I knew about his…that he was different. I didn't know why, of course, but I knew that he had…extra…."

"He's a hermaphrodite, Thor. We have a word for it."

"Okay. Well, I knew, but after he learnt a spell to conceal it he impressed upon me how I was to forget that he had ever been anything other than a normal male Æsir. We were still children; I grew up with it as only a vague memory." The large blonde shrugged hopelessly. "If I am to be honest, Tony, by the time he had problems with others about his bed-partners and magic it was thousands of years later and I had put it so far back in my mind it never occurred to me."

Tony frowned at that; put-out at the way Thor was trying to remove the blame from himself. At any rate, it wasn't really something to be discussed at this point. Hopefully it was a conversation Loki would have with his brother when they found him again. And back to the matter in hand…

"So your parents are cool that Loki's with me, then? After all, we proved that we can 'produce kids' quite effectively."

Thor gratefully took the chance to get back to the original conversation. "They are curious about the mortal who could snare the God of Mischief."

Tony smirked at the choice of words. "I don't know how much snaring went on. We just realised we got on pretty well when we weren't trying to kill each other."

"Be that as it may, my parents would like to meet you one day. As would Sleipnir; he is beside himself with worry over Loki."

"Sleipnir…?" Tony's photographic memory quickly shuffled through the files until it found the right entry. "Wait, the horse?" Along with the knowledge came a memory, nearly seven years old, and one of the few times Loki had ever spoken of his other child.

"_I can deal with a crying child, Tony." The God rose to his feet, the sobbing baby safely ensconced in his arms. "Sleipnir was a nightmare."_

"_Wasn't he a horse?"_

"_An eight legged horse who refused to go to bed. He was a nightmare child." There was fondness in the tricksters voice as he spoke._

The wistfulness on his face then had made Tony acutely aware in that moment that the God desperately loved his children, no matter what others thought of them.

"How long has it been since Loki saw Sleipnir?"

Thor looked miserable. "Before he fell. Over ten years ago now. Sleipnir misses him immensely."

Whilst the existence of an eight legged horse had managed to wriggle its way into the 'weird shit that actually exists' file in Tony's brain, he hadn't given any thought as to the other anomalies said horse might have.

"By 'misses him' do you mean in the usual animal sense of missing a person, or is Sleipnir cognitively aware?" He couldn't believe he was asking such a question!

"Sleipnir is as mentally aware as you or I." The thunder God looked confused, evidently not realising that Loki had said next to nothing about his offspring. "He can communicate by way of mind-speak and is highly intelligent."

"Oh. Wow, I hadn't realised that."

"He and Loki are extremely close, so to not see him for so long and then to hear that he has been taken by the chitauri…"

Tony nodded in understanding. Forgetting Sleipnir's general appearance for a moment, he could fully sympathise with a child desperately worried about their parent. And if mythology was to be believed, _only_ parent. Christ! At least Evelyn still had her Dad to look after her!

"How old is Sleipnir then? Mentally comparing him to a human."

Thor shrugged. "It's hard to calculate. He is certainly an adult in mentality, although Loki will doubtless forever see him as a spindly legged foal. Were he a human then I would guess you could say he is middle aged. As a man in his fifties perhaps? Of course, in years he is nearly sixteen thousand."

A low whistle was Tony's only reply. That was one _old_ horse.

"He also expressed a desire to one day meet his half-sister." Thor added.

"Huh? Who…_Evie_?"

The God had to smile at the dumb-founded expression on Tony's face. "Of course. They are siblings through Loki." His smile became a sly grin. "And he did mention maybe one day meeting with his _Fóstri_."

"His what?"

"Step-father."

That one took a while to sink in. Tony stared blankly at the thunder God as the two words slowly crept into his brain. _Step-father_.

"Mary Mother of God!" His head fell into his hands with a groan. "Loki and I aren't even married!"

"Loki loves you, that's enough for Sleipnir."

Tony groaned again. "Well he can't come and live with us; there are no stables and I know nothing about horses."

"I want a horse!" Evie rounded the sofa, evidently having caught the last part of the conversation. "Daddy, are we getting a horse?"

"No we are not!"

"Yet." Thor added, whilst Tony glared at him.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Time passed, sometimes slowly – when nothing seemed to work – and sometimes quickly.

The year progressed and Evie's eighth birthday came and went. They spent it out of the tower, with Tony deciding to take her on holiday so that she wasn't constantly mulling on the fact that Loki wasn't turning up. The idea seemed to work and the characters walking around Disneyland kept her mind off things. Even Tony cheered up, which was an added bonus he hadn't expected.

The satellite slowly began to take shape. An arc reactor – smaller than the one for the tower, but much much larger than Stark's personal one – was built and fitted into the framework. Jarvis made slow but steady progress with the atmospheric detection equations and had already begun testing them on closer stellar objects to good results. The bulk of the satellite itself was also constructed as a skeletal framework. There was still a huge amount to put inside it – communication equipment, all of the mechanics to ensure it could do its job, the mirror…the list was pretty much endless.

But, for the first time since losing Loki, Tony felt like they were really beginning to make some progress.

Life as an Avenger didn't stop just because Stark Industries was deciding to change the face of space technology either. However, world invasions didn't happen all that often and other than having to deflect an inter-continental ballistic missile sent by a certain country that wasn't even sure who they were aiming at, Ironman hadn't been needed all that much.

And, well, more time passed. That's what time does.

The mirror was completed and safely delivered to Earth. It was incredible, a thing of beauty. Nearly twenty meters across it was ten times the size of the one inside the Hubble Telescope. To the Avenger's disappointment it wasn't accompanied by any of the Dwarven craftsmen, but Tony made sure that the payment exceeded that which had been asked for – the craftsmanship was too fine for him not to.

It took nearly three months to properly install the giant disc into the structure and to check that it was fitted correctly (a single design flaw in the Hubble mirror had resulted in nearly ruining the entire project, and Tony didn't have the time for mistakes like that). The second mirror assembly, which had been made on Earth, was already in place and the two pieces were carefully lined up with the optical array.

Jarvis was integrated into the whole system both to run system diagnostics and to familiarise Tony with how the AI would function inside the computer modules. It was normal for deep space telescopes to be monitored manually from ground-control, but with Jarvis the thinking was that Tony wouldn't have to worry about having to sift through reams of data.

As well as mechanically putting the gigantic piece of technology together, there were also computer programs that needed writing for the whole thing to work effectively. Jarvis needed to know how to tell the difference between relevant and irrelevant data, what he was looking for, how to scan with optimum efficiency, and a multitude of fine details that had Tony tearing his hair out. As it was, whilst Jarvis needed to know these things, it was also Jarvis who was writing the algorithms to tell himself what he needed to know, so he started out by knowing what he needed to do to know them, which made it all a lot easier.

Bruce had tried to make sense of it and left with a headache.

And amongst all the organised chaos, Tony had also had to update his suit. The plan was still to launch from Pluto – which Thor had already okayed with Heimdall on the use of the Bifrost – but the closer the machine came to being finished the more Stark came to realise how much his suit was going to need for him to survive.

For a start, the damn place was _cold_. The surface was Nitrogen ice – meaning it was at the very _least_ -240 Celsius (-400 Fahrenheit) although Tony preferred to work in Kelvin, which made it a balmy 33K. The atmosphere was non-existence – far too cold for one – and chances were it would be extremely dark due to being so far from the sun.

So the Ironman suit was revamped, and pimped and added to until Tony was as certain as he could ever be that it would keep him alive in such hostile terrain.

He could only hope it would be enough.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

"That…Is one _big_ box of wires." Clint's sarcasm didn't really come across as well as he wanted it to when faced with the behemoth of a machine.

It was big. Scrap that, it was _huge_.

Larger than a jumbo jet, it sat in the centre of the warehouse, gleaming smugly.

Finished.

It had been twenty nine months, just over Tony's guess of two years to make and had easily sucked up about $93.5 million to build. The telescope was a pioneering piece of technology; ten, maybe twenty years ahead of anything NASA had been able to make.

The whole thing sat on top of a monster of a flatbed lorry that Tony had borrowed from the United States Army (it had once been used to transport the space shuttle Endeavour). Down both sides the Stark Industries logo had been stencilled and pride of place along the nose cone were huge letters spelling out '_Direwolf_' (Tony had received permission from both the copyright holders, who were rather smug to have their book/show inspire the name of such a prestigious inventor's work).

It took them three days to make the careful trek from the birthplace in the warehouse to the Bifrost site in the middle of the desert, Tony worrying over every bump and rut they hit along the way. The satellite was accompanied by three Stark Industries vans; two of them carrying a stack of large cases that Stark had been very vague about.

Thor had already spoken to Heimdall and a plan had been formulated to ensure the satellite would reach its destination in one piece. Namely, there was no way Tony was going to be able to go to Asgard this time round. The Observatory (Thor had to explain what he meant by that in relation to the bridge) was simply too small to fit the flat-bed truck and its cargo into, so Heimdall had suggested that he send the vehicle and its escort directly through without stopping at Asgard. Usually most journeys went through Asgard, since it was the main site of the Bifrost, but the Gatekeeper had been quite adamant that it was possible for him to send someone from one place to another without needing to stop in between at the city.

Tiny was a little disappointed that he wasn't going to see the fabled City of the Gods, but he supposed there were always other times.

When they reached the New Mexico Bifrost site Fury was already there waiting for them. Alongside was a large group of agents, fifteen of whom were in what appeared to be heavily modified NASA space suits.

"What's with the costume-party?" Tony jumped down from the cab of the truck, eyeing the astronauts in amusement. "If someone had warned me it was fancy dress I would have had time to get my Wolverine costume together."

"Not funny, Stark." Fury swept his hand back to indicate the people – nine men and six women now that Tony looked closer. "This is going to be your team up there."

"Uh, no it isn't." The man gave the five team members a sarcastic little wave. "Sorry to get your hopes up, but I've got my own team for this. I don't want Shield involved."

The Director folded his arms. "And why would that be? Truthfully, Mr Stark."

"Truthfully? For starters, I doubt those outfits will keep them alive for more than five minutes up there. Look at them; you might as well have made them out of paper!" Tony said scornfully. "And besides not wanting to come home with a group of human-popsicles, I also don't trust Shield one little bit with any of my tech. You know that, don't you dear?" He patted Fury's arm in a condescending manner before turning away from the man. "I've got this covered, but thanks."

"Stark, we aren't talking about a little jaunt to the moon here!"

"No, we aren't." And suddenly Tony was right back up in Fury's face, spitting the words like acid. "We're talking about something so far away mankind has never even bothered to dream about going there. Hell, we don't even classify Pluto as a planet anymore! It's so far from home that home isn't even a concept worth thinking about out there. I'm risking an awful lot going there just by myself; don't think for a second that I'm going to let others put themselves at risk too, purely for my selfish dream."

"I thought you said you had your own team." Fury's reply was cold and direct, repeating Stark's earlier words straight back to him.

"Yeah, I do. Jarvis? Fire 'em up."

The doors on the two Stark Industries vans that had been part of the satellite convoy opened of their own accord, displaying the crates inside. One by one said boxes rolled down the ramps that extended from the open doors on caterpillar-treads to line up neatly alongside the vehicles. Once all were out and in they began to methodically unfold seemingly without any other external stimuli.

Had anyone been asked to explain what they were seeing it would have been easiest to do so by referencing the battle droids from _Starwars; Phantom Menace._ Or maybe _Transformers_. The crates opened outwards and upwards at a blinding speed that was reminiscent of the Ironman armour attaching itself to Tony and in less than a minute ten suits were standing beside the vans – unpainted and gleaming a dull silver in the sun but otherwise perfectly functioning Ironman replicas.

Most of the Avenger's team who had accompanied Tony didn't seem surprised – apparently he had told them of this in advance – but Fury, for once, seemed taken aback.

"Are those for people?"

"No. Jarvis controls them."

The suits saluted, in synch. Tony saw – out the corner of his eye – one of the Shield agents take an involuntary step backwards and he grinned.

"There's only ten." Fury stated coldly. "You're going to need more than that. The telescope is huge."

Tony gave him one of his very best scathing looks. "Excuse me? Pluto has less gravity than our moon. I'd probably be able to lift it all on my own." He gestured at the free-standing suits. "Nine of these guys are built for heavy lifting and one houses a new mainframe for Jarvis. The connection with him broke that time I got rid of that nuke for you, which wasn't good for me, so I've built a mobile mainframe that can come with me when I'm out of range of the normal signal. I'm assuming that another planet will put me out of range. Ditto with the telescope; Jarvis is in there too. He's my operator."

"Will you stay in radio contact?"

"Uh…I'll be a couple of billion miles away. What's the reach of your walkie talkies?" Tony threw the quip over his shoulder as he turned and began to walk back over to the group of Stark Industries vehicles.

Evie had let herself out of one of the vans, dragging the case containing the Ironman armour with her. She looked up and grinned when her father gave her the thumbs up sign.

The girl had grown, as children do, over the course of making the satellite. Loki had disappeared the day before her seventh birthday and now they were only two days from her tenth (Tony had been careful with his timing so that he'd be back for it). She still bore very little resemblance to Loki, only the green tint to her irises betraying any relation. Instead the child was the spitting image of her father and it was only the longer hair that stopped anyone mixing up photographs of her with photos of Tony at the same age. It was quite clear, though that she was growing up, and Tony was beginning to sadly realise that his little girl was not going to be all that little for much longer.

"Right. Everything ready?" He clapped Evie on the shoulder.

"Jarvis said nothing happened when we moved it. Everything is working." The girl had set up the StarkPad and showed a page covered in specs from the satellite. "It's all ready."

"Great!" Tony rubbed his hands together, already anticipating the job ahead. Then he noticed how his daughter's expression fell slightly. "Hey, it's going to be okay, birdie."

"I don't want you to go." She muttered.

"I'll be back before you know it."

"But I don't want you to go! You'll be on your own and we won't be able to talk to you."

Tony smiled slightly. "It's a barren rock in the middle of nowhere. Nothing can happen." He brushed the girl's hair back from her face. "I'll pop up, launch the telescope and be back for dinner. What's got you so worried?"

Evelyn shrugged slightly. "I don't want you to go missing too." She mumbled, looking down at the floor.

"Oh Evie…" Tony pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm not going to go missing. I'll have ten Jarvis's with me, and there's nothing up there that can do any damage. Okay? I'll be fine."

"I'm just worried." The three words were muffled from where the girl was pressing into her father's t-shirt.

"I know, but it will be very quick and everyone here will stay with you until I'm back, yeah?" Tony smiled down at Evie.

"I guess."

"You know why I'm doing this."

She nodded at that, looking a little more sure than she had. "Yeah, yeah I know."

"So are you going to be okay?"

The girl finally smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Just…be careful?"

"I'm always careful."

Evie laughed at the blatant lie. Tony gave her another squeeze then released her so that she could pick up the StarkPad again. They both turned when they heard Thor approaching – the God had yet to learn to be quiet.

"Tony, are you ready?"

Stark ruffled Evie's hair again. "Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be." He took a couple of steps back from his daughter and stretched his arms out wide. "Hook me up Jarvis."

The Ironman suit folded itself around the jogging outfit that the man was wearing, flashing in the bright sun as the process finished, leaving the face plate out. Tony held out one gauntleted hand and Evelyn fist-bumped him.

"Okay, time to rock and roll." It seemed that that was a code-phrase of some sort because the ten extra suits turned and began marching into the circle Thor had mapped out as the Bifrost site, surrounding the lorry and satellite that were already placed there. Tony flipped his visor down. "Jarvis, systems check, are you working independent of the main tower?"

"Affirmative sir, the mobile mainframe is working effectively."

"Great." Inside the suit it wasn't possible for the others to see Tony take a shaky breath. He followed the other Ironmen and pulled himself up onto the truck to sit beside the telescope. It was comforting to see Evie take Natasha's hand and the assassin allow her to do so. "Right, Thor, what do I do?"

Thor made sure that he was well outside the periphery of the site before answering. "You need not do anything." He raised his voice. "Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!"

Tony clung to the edge of the truck with one hand as the area was suddenly bathed with an almost glaring light, and saluted. The last he saw before everything in his line of sight was blinded was Evie waving frantically.

WMWMWMWMWMMWMWMWMWM

Ironman had closed his eyes throughout the – admittedly very quick – journey. Whereas Loki's teleportation had been a brief whirl through darkness, this was shaking and jolting and painfully bright light everywhere that made him unable to open his eyes, even with the sun protection built into the HUD.

It would be fair to say that he was pretty damn frightened too.

Years. He had spent _years_ building up to this point, and had never really considered the important fact of launching the satellite off of _another goddamn planet_! It was always worry over if he had covered every angle, worry over how Evie was coping, worry over if Loki was alright, worry, worry, worry.

He hadn't really confronted the thought of being the first man to set foot on another planet – declassified or not – until it was actually _happening_.

He was scared.

The shaking stopped and the light faded, but for a long time Ironman didn't move, clinging to the security of the truck and keeping his eyes tightly closed.

"Sir…" Jarvis was working, at least. "Sir, you might want to look at this."

The AI hadn't really been built to have 'awe' as an emotional function, but he was programed to learn from the environment and Tony was pretty certain that that sounded like awe.

He opened his eyes.

"Oh…God…"

The vista was…stunning. Purely stunning.

The headlights of the truck illuminated ice and rock stretching out infront of him, rising up in fantastic shapes that would have given M C Escher a headache. The ice was foggy, almost blue in appearance and Tony remembered that it wasn't actually frozen water, but frozen nitrogen – the entire planet's atmosphere frozen solid. The horizon was much shorter than that on Earth and he could very faintly make out the shape of a moon in the sky that was desperately reflecting what little light it could get from the sun.

The sun…

He looked up, then in every direction of the sky that he could.

"Over there, sir." Jarvis circled something on the display and Tony stared.

The sun, the thing so natural that he pretty much forgot that it existed most days, was tiny. No heat and very little light could reach the spot where he was sitting; infact it was the same amount of light Earth usually received from it's own moon, but appeared much smaller in the sky.

"Where…can we see Earth from here?"

"No sir, it's on the opposite side of the system to us."

"Jesus…" He looked down from his perch on the truck at the dull surface.

Another world. So far away that mankind couldn't even dream of reaching it. It was beyond imagining.

He carefully climbed down from the truck, letting out a shaky breath when he felt the rock and ice crunch under his boots.

"Jarv….Just, record everything you can, yeah?"

"Of course, sir."

Tony took a hesitant step forward, feeling himself nearly float as he transferred the weight from one foot to the other. The gravity was so low he didn't dare use the suit to fly. If he could fly at all – no atmosphere would make it pretty tricky.

"How many moons does this thing have?" It was purely something to say; to stop himself from thinking about how he was the only human on the entire damn _planet_.

"Five, sir. One of which could be said to be part of a binary system with Pluto."

Hearing Jarvis's voice was a comfort and Tony continued to talk as he began unstrapping the satellite; the other unmanned suits helping. It was all so _big_. Space was just _big_.

He'd been right when he'd told Fury that it would only need the eleven of them to manoeuvre the giant machine. Low gravity had its uses.

The man climbed up onto the telescope to access the control panel and the HUD in his helmet indicated that all of the systems were working correctly and the large arc reactor had not reacted unfavourably to the extreme cold. He quickly flicked a group of switches up to their 'open' positions and closed the panel back up.

"Okay Jarvis, everything's looking good." He very slowly climbed back down – well aware that jumping could result in him bouncing around like a rubber ball. "Fire the boosters."

The ten suits supported the machine and lifted it as the engines fired, the blue burn lighting up more of the unusual rock around them.

"Systems are holding, sir. She is ready to go."

Tony stood well back and nodded. "Okay, Project Direwolf, launch."

The thrusters roared.

Unlike a rocket or shuttle on Earth, very little force was needed to escape the gravitational field. Had he been launching from home Tony would have needed a fuel cell attached to the satellite just to leave the atmosphere. However, here the arc reactor alone was able to provide enough thrust and send the giant telescope screaming upwards.

"She's holding, sir." Jarvis's voice could barely be heard over the roar. "Exiting atmosphere and entering orbit now. All systems are on green, pressure holding and steady. The arc reactor is working optimally."

Tony just stood there, staring.

Most people had seen videos of Cape Canaveral launching various missions, of watching the iconic NASA rockets dwindle into tiny specs in the sky. Not many had seen it with their own eyes. And now it was here infront of him. Not even a NASA rocket but his own project, designed by his own mind and built with his own two hands.

And with one aim in mind.

"Leaving orbit sir."

"Fire up the telescope, I don't want her to go too far until we know she works."

Tony remembered all too well how Hubble's mirror had been flawed and the whole thing had almost been a write-off. He most certainly didn't want that happening on this one.

The HUD sectioned into two halves; normal view in one and a fuzzy television-like screen in the other. Red numbers scrolled underneath the fuzzy view until they froze and turned green, the picture suddenly clearing to show a view of the sky in perfect clarity.

"Resolution looks good, zoom in on something." He squinted at the display as it focussed on one of the stars in the image and suddenly drew up close enough to show that it wasn't a star at all but a large blue planet. "Neptune, right?"

"Well done, sir." Jarvis sounded faintly amused. "I shall continue calibrating and will let you know when I am ready to start scanning for the galaxy."

"Sounds good." Tony turned away, looking back out across the alien – in every sense of the word – surface. "I'm going to get some rock samples. Bruce would kill me otherwise." He began walking up to one of the giant twisted spires of stone, but was stopped by one of the other suits. It held out a small package that was covered with a thick frost.

"Director Fury wished me to give this to you." Jarvis said earnestly.

"Huh." Tony unwrapped it to find a telescopic pole and a rolled up wad of cloth. "A flag? I can't really claim Pluto for America; I think some other countries would be a bit pissed off." When he didn't get a reply he sighed and unrolled it. "Oh…"

It wasn't the Stars and Stripes as he'd expected. Instead it was a simple black background with a photograph of the Earth. Underneath were the words; We Come Here Peacefully And Hope To Leave Enlightened.

"That's…surprisingly not half bad." He attached the stiff, frozen cloth to the pole. "Jarv, I could do with a photo of this." _Whilst I resist the urge to claim Pluto in the name of Stark Industries._

"Any famous words for posterity, sir?"

"Uh…Yeah." Tony looked up at the sky again, at the shrinking sight of his satellite. Famous words…He should have thought of that in advance. "Um…I'm currently standing on the planet furthest from our sun. I could be doing this for the money, for the fame or for the glory. But I'm not. I'm here because I'm searching for God. My God. And I _will_ find him. Whatever happens; _I will find him._"

They weren't quite worthy of Neil Armstrong, but they had come straight from the heart.

WMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

**Yep, Pluto's gravity is so low it really would only take that number of Ironman suits to lift something the size of a jumbo jet.**

**Also; I know that NASA take a lot longer to build something even remotely approaching this telescope. However; I was working on the theory that a large amount of that work is purely working out what needs to be done, getting hold of the things and putting bits together. Now, Tony has Jarvis to work out the schematics, which cuts a humans workload of about two years down to maybe a month (taking Jarvis' massively superior IQ into account, and that he can trouble shoot as he goes). Also; Tony is likely to have scaffolds in place already, or at least the blue-prints to make them – after all, it's just a bigger version of the platform that takes off the armour. So all things considered; Tony would be able to get things done quicker, purely because of the infrastructures he already has in place. And to be honest I also didn't really want to make Loki wait any longer than he has to; it's already been three years.**

**Also; Pluto. Surprisingly, this isn't taken from an account of someone who's been. It's a little too far away. I've gathered everything I could and tried to make it as real as possible whilst also having no clue what it would really be like there. Dark and cold, mostly. Also; nitrogen ice is not shiny, unlike normal ice. Infact, frozen water is the only frozen state that can be used to ice-skate on due to it's unique properties when pressure is added.**

**There, you just learnt some physics :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry it's so late! I wanted to see Ironman 3 first for some fight-scene inspiration, and wow what a film! So much better than that shocker of a second film! But…well, I can't really keep any of the plot details, sadly. As much as I love what happened in the story line I can't keep to that canon if I want this story to work. So, as far as this fic is concerned, Ironman 3 hasn't happened (which is admittedly a shame).**

**Also, I had some rather disgruntled people asking where Loki was last chapter so I wrote a nice big gory bit for you. And by gory, it's really **_**really**_** gory. I think you guys can handle it if you've got through the other stuff so far, but it's not pretty. I'll put warnings at the end so if you think you would be better checking to see if it's something you can read, hit the End button now.**

**Other than that; enjoy!**

"Sir. Sir. Sir. Sir."

"Shut _up_, Jarvis!" Tony was underneath one of his many cars – an Aston Martin db9 to be precise – and when in the car-zone he did _not_ like to be interrupted. Jarvis technically knew this, but ignored it each and every time.

"No. Sir. Sir. Sir. Sir-"

"_Jarvis_!"

"Yes, sir?"

"Sometimes I hate you."

"Only sometimes? Sir, you astonish me."

Tony sighed. "Is there a _reason_ you're being more annoying than Clint when he's injured?" He pushed himself out from underneath the car chassis and wiped his hands off on a nearby towel.

"I need to discuss Miss Evelyn's lessons with you, sir. The reason that I started this conversation in such a manner was because she dared me to."

The man ran a hand over his face with a groan. "What did I tell you about accepting dares with Evie?"

"It is my duty to keep her happy and when I am not acting as her teacher I am her friend as much as I am yours." Jarvis said smoothly. "I may be a very intricate string of binary, but you programmed emotion into me and I understand the obligations of friendship, insofar as humans have defined it. So when she is bored outside of lessons I will engage in dare contests if she so wishes."

"…I hate how rational you can be."

"You routinely say that, sir."

"Yeah. So, we're off topic. Evie's lessons? What's up?"

Jarvis affected a small cough, which was usually a sign he was about to bring up a more delicate subject. "I have encountered a small problem."

Tony grinned. "Let me guess. You've taught her everything that it's possible for her to know, because she's just that brilliant and now she can help out in the lab whenever she wants?"

"Not as such sir. She is very clever, but not _that_ clever."

"Damn. There go my plans of a second pair of hands around the workshop. Kay. So what's the problem then?"

"Miss Evelyn has reached the age where schools usually begin to teach sex education."

"Oh…"

"I wished to know if you want me to talk to her about these facts of life, or if you would like yourself or someone else to do so. Miss Potts perhaps?"

Tony rested both hands on the work bench and hung his head with a heavy sigh. "She's only ten, Jarvis, surely she doesn't _need_ to know the facts of life just yet."

"On the contrary sir, I believe it's highly likely she's already worked most of it out anyway – as you say, she is very smart. And as a girl going into puberty there are things she needs to know so that she won't have an awful shock later on."

"But…" _But she's my little girl…_ Tony didn't say the words, but he didn't really need to. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he still saw Evie as a tiny child sometimes. It was hard to believe that the baby he had helped into the world was now approaching the scary world of puberty.

"Time to get out of the Egyptian river, sir."

"The...? Oh. Denial. Ha ha, Jarvis."

"You know I'm right, sir." The AI sounded unbearably smug to Tony's mind. "So, how do you wish to proceed? I'm sure Miss Potts will be amenable to having a talk with Miss Evelyn. Or perhaps even Ms Romanoff."

The man scowled. "Are you saying you don't think I can handle this myself?"

The pause was just _slightly_ too long. "Of course not, sir. I merely assumed you wouldn't want to."

"You think I can't do it. You think I'm not mature enough to give my daughter The Talk."

"The thought never even crossed my mind, I can assure you."

"Hmmm." Tony glared up at the ceiling. "I don't believe you. I'll talk to Evie myself, thank you very much!"

"If you insist, sir. Should I call her down now?"

"Er…" The man had to admit to sudden panic. However, he also was less than inclined to let his smart-arse AI know that. "Yeah. Sure, send her down, I'll…uh…find a flip-chart or something."

Infact, he decided against the flip-chart since it was just a little _too_ clichéd, but he did pull out one of his empty A3 notebooks and a pencil just in case. His drawing skills weren't spectacular so he was hoping he wouldn't actually need to sketch anything down, but it was better to be prepared.

How had it come to this? How had his little girl grown up so quickly?

With everything that had been happening over the past few years he had entirely forgotten that little girls don't remain little for very long. At least he knew he hadn't wasted that time with her.

"Dad? Jarvis said you wanted me?" Evie wandered into the lab only half looking where she was going as her attention remained fixed on the StarkPad in her hands.

"Oi, careful!" Tony pulled the tablet out of her grasp, bringing her up short before she walked into the corner of the work surface.

"Hey! I was doing something!"

He glanced over the webpage that was open and smiled slightly. Evie had been immersed in the Hubble Telescope picture gallery. "It's not going anywhere. You can have it back after we've had a talk."

The girl sighed and pulled herself up onto one of the stools next to the work bench. "Okay. What do we need to talk about? If it's about Aunty Nat's gun then I _swear_ I didn't know the safety was off. And you can hardly see the hole."

Tony winced at the memory of the destroyed sofa in the living room. "That's not actually what I wanted to talk to you about, but we _do_ need to discuss that at some point."

"Must we? Uncle Clint already lectured me." Evie whined.

"Yeah we do. But not now."

"So why am I here?"

Tony spun his stool around to place the confiscated tablet on his work desk then turned back to his daughter. "I think it's time we had a chat, Evelyn."

The girl grinned. "Ooh, full name, this is serious."

"Yeah, this _is_ serious, Birdie, you're a growing girl and it's time we had a talk."

Evie's grin faded and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "_A_ talk or _the_ talk?"

"Alright, _the_ talk."

"I think I already know it."

Tony arched an eyebrow at the quick answer, noting the way his daughter went bright red. "I know Jarvis monitors your internet use, so I know you've not been looking up anything untoward. Where have you got your info from?"

She shrugged. "I worked it out."

"Worked it out?" To be fair, Tony couldn't actually dispute it since he had a vivid memory of watching a James Bond film as a child and having an '_Oh dear God! Is that what they're doing?!_' moment half way through a sex scene. "Well, yeah. Okay, I can believe that. _But_ I can guarantee you've missed out on some key points. So park your butt because we're having this talk. I am being a responsible parent and I am not going to let you escape from this!"

"Uh….Okay?" Evelyn fixed him with a shrewd gaze. "On one condition. If I'm old enough for The Talk, I'm old enough to get my ears pierced."

Stark knew when to make compromises and this had been one battle that he knew he'd been doomed to lose when Evie had first mentioned it two years ago. He'd held off allowing her through the age-old parental fear, but she really did have a point now, and he sighed.

"Yeah, okay, deal."

WMWMWMMWMWMWMW

"_And we were singing; bye bye Miss American Pie. Drove my Chevy to levee but the levee was dry. And them good old boys were drinking whisky and rye singing; this'll be the day that I die…This'll be the day that I-"_

"Clint, shut _up_!" Pepper slammed her book down to glare at the archer. He merely grinned at her and continued singing, sashaying over to her.

"_Did you write the book of love, and do you have faith in God abo-_ Ow! Nat!"

Natasha, curled up in her favourite sofa near the window had successfully thrown an apple at him and smirked when he glared. "That is an annoying song, and you know it."

"But it's stuck in my head!"

Pepper sighed heavily and glanced up at the ceiling. "Jarvis, some music if you please?"

"With _pleasure_ Miss Potts."

Clint scowled, until Jarvis began playing the Dambusters March which drew a laugh from the archer. "Really?"

The elevator doors opened to reveal Evie and Tony; the girl running into the room with her arms outstretched like an aeroplane in response to the music.

"Dad said I could get my ears pierced!" She dived at the sofa Pepper was sat on and bounced excitedly on the cushions. "We're going out this afternoon! I get to choose what colour the ear-rings are!"

Pepper laughed at the child's enthusiasm. "What's the occasion?" She asked, looking to Tony for confirmation. "I thought you two were at logger-heads over the whole ear-piercing thing."

Tony grinned sheepishly. "We decided she was old enough."

"I persuaded Dad that if I was old enough to know about sex I was old enough to decide what I wanted to do with my ears." Evie stated smugly.

Clint's jaw dropped. "The…Talk? You gave her The Talk?! Tony Stark managed to maturely discuss sex? Jarvis! Tell me you got this on video!"

Tony laughed and folded his arms. "I wiped the files, Clint. There are things about Loki I'm sure you don't want to know."

"Huh?"

Evelyn knelt up on the sofa and folded her arms on the back of it to grin at the archer with all the maliciousness as befitting the daughter of the God of mischief. "Think about it Uncle Clint; both my parents are _men_. There are things you _really_ don't want to know."

Natasha muffled a snort of laughter that gave Tony the sudden insight that she would be asking him many questions later. Pepper tried to look disproving, but was certainly thinking along the same lines as the female assassin.

"So, earrings, huh?" Clint was apparently desperate to get off the subject of Loki's childbearing abilities.

Tony slumped down onto the sofa besides Evie. "Yeah, we'll pop into Tiffany's later on today. Assuming madam here can take it."

"It's hardly going to hurt _that_ much!" The child shot back instantly.

"You say that now but-"

"Tony." Pepper was sitting up straighter and glaring at her boss. "Did you say _Tiffany's_? As in the leading jewellery designer? For a ten year old?"

Tony thumped his head back against the back of the sofa with a loud groan. "Oh come on! You should see what most celebrity parents do for their kids; I think I've been very well restrained over the years! She doesn't even own a pony! If she's going to permanently scar her ears for life it will be with nothing less than diamonds!" He folded his arms like a petulant two year old. "I'm a multibillionaire and I will occasionally spoil my only child rotten. So sue me."

Pepper pursed her lips disapprovingly before nodding curtly. "Well, you'd damn well better get me something whilst you're there then."

"Seconded!" Natasha didn't even look up from the gun that she was trying to mend. "But no alloys. My skin reacts badly to alloys."

Tony laughed and glanced at Clint. "Any requests? Apparently I'm buying for everyone. Nose ring? Got a Prince Albert you haven't told us about?"

If the archer had had a response it was never going to be known.

The sudden wail of a klaxon from the ceiling made Evie and Pepper visibly jump, and even Tony glanced up sharply.

"Jarvis, report."

"Nevada desert, sir. Military exercise gone wrong." The Ai's informal mannerisms had vanished and were replaced with a business-like tone to convey the facts as quickly as possible. "They have lost control of one of the un-manned drones. Requested: Ironman, Captain America, Hulk and Thor to take it out. Requested: Hawkeye and Black Widow to protect the ground crew. Director Fury to oversee."

Natasha frowned. "Where are these orders from, Jarvis?"

"The Army."

Tony scowled. He had never been able to get along with the military ever since he had stopped supplying them with high-class weapons. "Oh _great._" He ruffled Evie's hair. "Sorry, kiddo, looks like we may have to delay the piercing until tomorrow. That okay?"

"I guess it will have to be." She quickly hugged him round the waist. "Be careful."

"Yeah yeah, I'm always careful."

Pepper held her hand out to the child. "Come on Evie. Let's go look online and pick out what sort of earrings you'd like. They'll be back in no time."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMMWMWM

The desert heat shimmered in the air, and Tony once again had cause to be glad that he'd put a cooling system into his suit as he flew across the sparse ground. The Quinjet was keeping level with him – he'd purposely flown at a slower speed so that they would arrive together – and he swept low, coming in to land next to the army tents that had been set up.

A very harassed looking major stepped out from the shade of one of the structures, glancing at the landing Quinjet before turning to Tony.

"Mr Stark, damn glad to see you here."

"Wish I could say the same. Couldn't you have turned the heat down a little?" Ironman flipped his face-plate up and squinted in the sudden harsh sunlight. Jarvis had been scanning the air-space as they arrived and had so far to see any sign of the missing machine, but it was a large area so Tony wasn't too worried yet. "What happened?"

"Routine exercise." The major glanced to one side as the Quinjet turned its engines off. "We were pitting our ground crew against five fighter pilots to test the drone's response time. It's a new system – I can't tell you too much about it of course – but essentially it's a remote controlled jet. Should cut casualties in half, or at least that's the theory."

"Only theory?" Tony was well aware of what the 'top-secret' system was like – it was still based on one of his old designs after all – and didn't place much faith in how they had upgraded his work. "Where's Warmachine?"

"The Iron Patriot is currently lending a hand to our troops in Iraq."

"Huh. Sucks to be Rhodey." Tony saw the major's eyes flicker over his shoulder and turned a little to see the rest of the team jog up. "Guys, this is Major…" He glanced back.

"Major Alunson."

"Yeah, Major Alunson. He'll fill you in, I'm going to go find that drone and take a look." He _probably_ should have waited for at least Steve to agree with him before flipping his face-plate back down and taking off. Should have, but didn't.

The HUD was lit up with a scan of the area but there was nothing abnormal in the vicinity and certainly no sign of the missing machine. Tony flew high enough that the Quinjet was just a small spec before hovering in one place, surveying the desert below him.

"_You could have waited to hear what the plan is going to be."_ Steve's voice was tinny and resigned inside the helmet.

"What's to know? You and the Hulk can't get up here to fight an aircraft, the Quin is out-manoeuvred so won't be any good. Ergo it's me and Thor versus creepy un-manned plane. That cover it?"

"_Uh…yeah, actually._"

"No need to sound so peeved, Sparky, I _am_ the resident genius here." He turned on the spot to look out across the horizon. "You guys stop it from taking pot-shots at the folks on the ground and me and ol' Thunder-boots can handle it up here. Savvy?"

There was an exasperated sigh in his ear. "_Fine. See what you can do to slow it down and we'll handle the ground work."_

Tony was more than happy with that plan.

"Sir?" Jarvis sounded as worried as he ever did. "Sir, I believe the drone you are looking for is coming in from the west at Mach 2."

Ignoring what could have _very nearly_ been a Starwars reference, Tony spun in mid-air to face said direction, only to be nearly knocked out the sky as the unmanned aircraft screamed past him.

"_Jesus Christ_, Jarvis! Why didn't you warn me sooner?!"

"It's cloaked, sir. Stealth technology." As the plane swerved and began heading straight back towards Ironman Jarvis added; "It also appears to have a low-grade form of AI. At least enough to cause it to act in self-defence."

"Self-defence?! I never attacked it!" Tony shot downwards as the drone came in again, this time deliberately aiming itself.

Even as he said the words his superb mind was already drawing its own conclusions. They already knew that the army had lost control and therefore their connection with the machine; it made sense that the drone's AI would perceive that as an attack and would go onto the offensive.

"Thor? You in the air yet?"

"_Yes. What is it?" _Thor sounded terse, and Tony guessed that the drone, having shot past him had now had a go at the God.

"I'm pretty certain that due to the broken connection its default position is to classify us as a threat." Tony eyed the flickering numbers that had started scrolling in the corner of the HUD. "Jarvis is trying to hack into the system, but it's pretty well protected. " He didn't expect Thor to understand the jargon, but knew the God would understand the situation.

"Sir, incoming!" Jarvis' warning came just in time and Tony swerved to avoid the missile that had been shot towards him. He watched it fly past, only to curve round and come straight back. "It appears to be target-locked."

"Yeah, kinda got that." Ironman dodged again, and once again the weapon spun back. "Huh." Then he grinned.

"Sir?"

"Guys, nobody worry, I'm about to perform a _Wronsky feint_."

There was a chorus of 'what?' from the rest of the team, that made Tony despair for their lack of Harry Potter knowledge – especially that pertaining to Quidditch. Too little time to explain, though. As the missile zoomed straight back towards him the man simply flipped over and plummeted down towards the desert below him.

He couldn't help but whoop as the ground came rushing up to meet him at break-neck speed and the sensors in the HUD screamed warnings that he entirely ignored. Ignoring all of the speed-gauges he timed it by pure instinct, sharply changing angle at the last moment and at such a speed that the G-forces made the suit whine painfully.

The missile didn't make the U-turn as neatly and hit the desert with a soft 'whooph' noise that was then over-shadowed as it exploded.

"Hah! Hell yeah!" There was another explosion nearby and Tony glanced towards the sound to see that Thor had smashed a second missile with his hammer. Out of the two strategies it was hard to say which was the less risky.

The drone came back into sight again and this time Ironman struck first, shooting his own mini-rocket towards it.

"There we go, problem solved."

Or…not. Even as he watched the unmanned aircraft opened fire on the tiny Stark-tech and the ensuing fire-ball threw Tony backwards head-over heels in the air. He barely righted himself before the drone narrowly missed taking him out with its wing. In retaliation Thor threw his hammer only for the drone to fire again and knock it off course. Obviously it couldn't actually damage the weapon, but it had deflected the attack effortlessly.

"Okay…This thing's beginning to piss me off now."

Tony quickly went through his mental list of what he had in his arsenal and what could be more effective that either his mini-rockets or Mjolnir. On the plus side he had a _lot _ of toys that could deal varying types of damage to most things.

"Thor, back up a little." He had to smirk as the increasingly infuriated thunder God aimlessly tried the hammer a few more times. "I've got another plan."

Thor didn't audibly reply, but stopped his attempts on the drone to allow Tony to aim at the aircraft. It obviously couldn't sense threat, but it apparently sensed focussed concentration because it roared back towards Ironman.

"Jarvis? Anytime, please." Tony watched the oncoming machine in the full confidence that it was about to fall out of the sky.

It didn't.

"Jarvis?! If you could fire the EMP I'd ever so grateful."

"EMP already fired, sir. It appears that the hostile has shielding."

Tony's sudden swearing was cut off by the hail of bullets that hit him square in the chest-plate, punching through the outer layers of armour like they were going through cheese.

"Shit!" He tumbled backwards before being able to dodge out of the way. The drone swung to follow, but he was faster at manoeuvring and escaped the second battery that was fired at him.

"_Tony, you okay?"_ It was Steve's voice, sounding worried.

"I think so." Red lights were flickering across the HUD but nothing critical seemed damaged. "I'm going to try a missile again, see how it likes taking things up the ass."

He didn't listen to the barrage of complaints that comment drew. It took a moment to swing back up behind the drone but its attention had refocused on Thor which made targeting simpler. Tony aimed the missile at the fuselage on the back of the air-craft, figuring that the small exhaust port would be a weak spot.

Heh, exhaust port. As a long-term Starwars addict he couldn't help but make the parallels to Luke's run on the Death Star.

However, Luke's attempt was successful.

This wasn't.

There was a large explosion as the weapon activated, and for a moment the drone disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Then, like an iceberg out of mist, it reappeared, looking almost unscathed.

"_Bugger_! Damn thing!" Tony knew that the missile wasn't hugely powerful, but it was almost insulting how little damage it did. "Bloody thing's shielding must be as thick as my arm!"

He wasn't kidding either. The impact spot of the small missile was scorched but there was no evidence of it having done more than scratched the surface. It appeared that the aircraft had been modified since he had last seen the specifications, and the thick armour cladding was certainly new. He _hated _it when people played with his toys – even the old ones.

Okay…EMP and missiles not having an effect. That was a bit not good.

"Guys? Little help up here?"

"_Try manually taking it to pieces._" It was Bruce who responded, evidently going on his own working knowledge of how the Hulk took out aircraft.

"Uh, yeah. How about no? This thing can rip me to shreds before I even get close."

"_It was just a thought. Since the mighty Stark Brain is floundering up there."_

"Cute, real cute. And I am not _floundering_, dear Bruce." Tony dodged out of the way as Mjolnir shot past him and spun to see Thor glaring mutinously at the aircraft. "But…Give me a moment. I might have a way to make it work. Oi! Thor!"

The hammer returned to the God's hand and he turned so that Tony could see his now-quizzical expression.

"_What is it? You have a plan?"_

"Yeah. That shielding's stupidly thick – neither of us will be ripping it open any time soon, but if you can pull the guns off that will at least deprive it of one of it's weapons."

"_What would the point of that be?"_

"Just…trust me on this." Tony's tone of voice made it clear that no-one would agree with what he was planning next, hence why he wasn't saying. It was a ruse that probably would _only_ work with Thor – who rarely looked ahead of a strategy once in a battle – whereas the others were far less trusting of Ironman's methods.

This was, after all, the man who personally delivered a nuke into a portal that – let's face it – could have led to _anywhere_ and then nearly didn't make it back.

As predicted, Steve immediately latched onto the weak reply, demanding to know just what Tony intended to do if the drone was divested of its guns. Needless to say, Ironman blocked him.

"Thor, the guns, if you'd please. And Jarvis, can you scramble it's gyroscope?"

"I believe so, sir."

"Wonderful."

The twin barrels that protruded on either side of the aircraft's nose-cone were possibly the only weak spot on the whole thing and whilst Tony could aim better that Thor; he was also a lot more mortal than the God. It might have seemed slightly selfish but it made more sense for the Thunderer to face the bullets and take them out.

Thor seemed to agree with the silent assessment of the situation, summoning a large bolt of lightning to strike the presumed vulnerable spot.

"Uh…Thor? Ever heard of a Faraday's cage? – look, that won't cut it, you're going to have to use brute force!"

"_That would have been helpful to know beforehand!_" Thor sounded more distracted than annoyed, and it was little wonder.

Tony didn't have a very clear view of precisely what happened, since he was coming in from the wrong angle, but what he was certain of was that the God simply flew directly at the drone, head-on. The resulting collision sent a shockwave through the air that sent more warnings across his already-blaring HUD and it was only Thor's war-cry in his ear that stopped him from checking that the God hadn't gone full-on kamikaze on the thing.

As it was the ensuing explosion brought a chorus of concern from all members of the team that only abated when Thor re-appeared, looking mildly concussed, from the plume of black smoke.

"_One gun removed, I can't do the other one for a moment. This machine has a form of shield, like my own lightning that will require me to heal for a moment."_

"He means it's electrically shielded." Jarvis supplied. "That shockwave was the result of electro-static shielding when Mr Thor impacted with it."

"Yeah, I got that." Tony watched the God gearing up for a second attack and calculated quickly. "Thor, wait! I can do it from here!"

"_I only took out one gun. A moment and I will do the other."_

"No, I'm not having you blow yourself up; I can do this as is."

Jarvis must have opened the coms back up again because Steve's voice immediately filled the Ironman mask, demanding to know exactly what said Ironman was intending. Up until the point that Tony switched him off again.

"Right…" Stark fired a single bullet at the air-craft and watched as the drone – now metaphorically limping, and trailing black smoke from one gun-port – swung back to face him in response. "This is probably the best idea I've had since going into outer space with a nuclear missile. Have you scrambled the gyro?"

"Scrambled as an egg. And it would help if you told me your plan, sir. "

"No, it really wouldn't. Just…hang tight, Jarvis." Because this was _stupid_, which was mostly why it was a classic Tony Stark plan.

Flying head-on towards the machine he waited the second or so it took for the remaining gun-barrel to target him before neatly flipping over and heading directly down. _Directly_ down. Earth-bound.

"Sir! I would not advise this course of action!"

Tony didn't reply. He did, however, glance back over his shoulder enough to check that, yes, the drone had indeed followed his trajectory. The scrambling had done its job – with a busted gyroscope the thing couldn't tell which way was up or down. Good job Jarvis.

However, it did still have one functioning gun that it was insisting on using. He could feel the bullets biting into the bottoms of the boots and up the back of the suit, the angle just so that they wouldn't penetrate, but enough to start causing more warning lights to flash. It wasn't something he could concentrate on, with the ground rushing up so quickly. All he could do was hope that the mechanisms would hold out just long enough.

It was a matter of the most precise of timings. He had noticed the slight delay the drone had in following his movements, which meant that in _theory_ he should be able to pull up _just in time_ and it wouldn't have the chance to do so.

In theory.

Just like with that first little missile.

The ground was worryingly close when there was a sudden blaring alarm in his ear.

"_Sir_!" Jarvis sounded panicked. Infact, Tony didn't think he had ever heard the AI _shout_ in such a fashion. Even that time when he'd iced up. "Thrusters have failed!"

"What?!"

There was…well, a _sputtering_ sound. Tony could feel the burners on the boots suddenly begin to stutter before one suddenly blinked out all-together, sending him suddenly off-course before both died. And he was _falling._

Falling and the ground was rushing up at full speed and he had no way to steer and –

…

_Whoooomph_

The impact was somewhat reminiscent of the first flight he'd ever made in an Ironman suit – also known as the escape from a terrorists cave. Only somewhat reminiscent, though, because this one hurt a _hell_ of a lot more. The speed could have had something to do with that.

For the longest moment Tony wondered if he'd actually been killed. Everything was dark. Complete pitch blackness that was terrifying.

He couldn't move.

Couldn't even tell if that was because of the dead suit or because he had just broken every bone in his body. It was actually really quite terrifying.

He didn't even have breath in his lungs to call for Jarvis. Or for help.

Couldn't even call for help.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

"…Coming round, I think. Tony? Hey buddy, you there?"

There was a nice voice.

Friend.

Friend-voice.

"…Concussion from hell I'd say, though. He's definitely waking up."

Steve. Only Steve sounded that _motherly_.

Tony managed to crack half an eye open, before groaning as the light glared and burnt his retinas. He was spared from what felt like being blinded as Captain America's worried face floated into view, blocking the offending sun out.

"Tony! Hey, good to see you!" The all-American-hero looked so relieved that Stark tried to smile.

"How long I been out?" It was crap grammar but if he was going to try to talk it was going to be with the least effort possible.

"Five minutes? Not long. Well, long enough for us to be _really_ worried." The relief turned to a scowl. "And that was _stupid_! I thought you'd got that out of your system with the nuke! You could have killed yourself!"

"Suit failed…"

"I _know! _I had to prise the damn thing off of you after digging you out of a crater! No, don't sit up…"

Tony tried to lever himself upright, carefully taking stock of all moving parts as he did so. It actually appeared that nothing was broken – a fact his scrambled mind could only put down to dumb luck and superior suit design – although it hurt enough that he might as well have broken the lot. He blinked a few times to try to clear his blurred vision and realised that he was sitting on the edge of a rather impressive crater that was littered with bits of drone.

"How 'm not dead?"

"You should be. Thor couldn't catch you in time, but he managed to knock the aircraft off course just enough so that it didn't land on top of you."

Good old Thor. Tony tried to make a note to thank the God; had the drone landed on him the impact and ensuing explosion would have certainly have resulted in Ironman becoming an inch-thick smear across the bottom of the hole.

"Anyone hurt?"

"Just you."

"Grand." Stark allowed gravity to pull him back down to the floor again and lay there, looking up at the bright sky. "Are the army happy?"

"Not really, that thing was expensive apparently."

"Of course it was. Can we go home now?"

"Wait for Banner to check you over."

"Aww…"

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMMWMWMW

In the end Tony managed to fend Bruce off – refusing a proper medical examination after determining he could still walk and therefore hadn't seriously damaged anything. The doctor was less than impressed, especially faced with the evidence of Stark's concussion, but was mollified that he could keep a close eye on the man on the flight home in the Quinjet.

Truth be told, Tony was still surfing the adrenaline wave. Yes, he hurt, and hurt badly at that, but it didn't feel half as bad as he knew it would once the magic neurotransmitter wore off. Infact for now he felt…great, actually. He'd survived a stupid decision, wrecked another suit and currently felt more Godlike than Thor.

That counted as a win.

However, he was well aware that as good as he felt, he looked like crap. The others had made that clear and Fury had emphasised it when he sent them on home with the order to clean themselves up and save the debriefing for the next day. In hindsight it should have alerted Stark that he must be _really_ looking like crap if the Director himself was putting off a debrief in favour of sending them home.

They landed on the helipad on the roof of Stark-tower and took the elevator down to the main living space.

Evie and Pepper were curled up watching Pretty Woman, although the girl had fallen asleep at some point, her head on Pepper's lap. The woman smiled when the tired heroes traipsed quietly past, her eyes quickly taking in the damage Tony had acquired when he ruffled Evie's hair – careful not to wake her.

"How was she?"

"Absolutely fine, just as she always is." Pepper's eyes showed her concern as she pursed her lips at him. "You look terrible and Jarvis has been unusually silent about what happened. You did something stupid, didn't you." She didn't even phrase it as a question.

"Yeah, just a bit." Tony ran a tired hand across his face before looking back down at his sleeping daughter. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow. After I've slept for about a week. Give me a moment to get the remains of my armour down to the lab then I'll come and carry kiddo to bed."

"_Remains_?"

"…Yeah? I just want to make sure it's all neutralised and won't explode. It took a bit of a pounding."

"And so did you."

He shrugged, albeit painfully, and grinned. "You know me. I'll be back in a bit."

Pepper rolled her eyes and waved a hand telling him to shoo and do what he needed to do. Years of working alongside him had made her almost worryingly immune to these sorts of incidents. She settled back to watch Julia Roberts on a shopping spree, content in the knowledge that Jarvis would warn her if anything was amiss.

Tony meanwhile limped painfully back into the elevator, trying not to look as pitiful as he was beginning to feel. Okay, magic adrenaline was wearing off now and small hurts were slowly becoming _big_ hurts.

He automatically hit the button for the laboratories without looking, choosing instead to rest his arm against the wall of the elevator and to let his forehead lie on it.

"Sir, may I call Doctor Banner for you? You seem unwell."

"M fine, Jarv. I'll see after put birdy to bed." The man rubbed his chest with a groan, feeling the large bruise that spread outwards from the reactor. His suit had saved his from broken ribs, but the pain was still fairly monstrous. "Few day sleep, I'll be fine."

"You are using fractured sentences and your blood pressure appears low. I would advise medical attention." Jarvis insisted gently.

Tony rolled his eyes and didn't bother to reply as the elevator stopped and he stepped out into the lab space.

Yes, Jarvis was more than likely correct that he should see a doctor, but it could wait. It could always wait. The bruising on his chest _hurt._

It wasn't until his hands were gripping the work-surface that Tony realised his legs were shaking enough to give him need to hold on to something to stay upright. Everything _hurt_ and his heart was absolutely thumping in his chest.

This…wasn't good.

He knew that it was concerning and something was screaming in his mind that he should be recognising what was happening. This was something he needed to deal with but he couldn't make his brain work.

"Sir, please let me alert Doctor Banner." Jarvis' voice seemed fainter, further away maybe and Tony tried to focus on it through muffled ears. "I believe you are going into shock, you need assistance."

Assistance…Yes that would probably be a good idea…

"Sir? Sir…? SIR!?"

Tony heard the sirens going off around the tower as his vision blacked in and a crippling pain – even worse than the horrific bruising – shot through his chest. His knees hit the floor with a hard thud, followed by the rest of his body.

"_Sir_!"

Strange…He hadn't realised Jarvis had the emotional capacity to panic….

"Tony!"

His gaze slid dreamlike to see Bruce skidding down next to him, and Tony distantly wondered why the doctor appeared to be moving in slow-motion. Or why he looked so frantic.

"Ton…hear…?"

Bruce was saying something, but Tony found that he couldn't focus on the sounds as his eyes slid shut again. He was so tired and it just hurt too much to bother concentrating.

"Steve…fetch…defibrillator…shock…Cardio…arrest…"

It was just so much easier to sleep. He'd worry about everything later.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM

_Loki lay in the far corner of the cell, motionless as he stared at the bloody mess left across the filthy ground. _

_He knew he should probably be feeling an emotional response to the creature that was abandoned in the middle of the tiny dungeon, but all he could manage was revulsion. There was pain of course, oh there was _always_ pain, but really nothing else as he silently stared at the remains of the child and the sheer amount of blood._

_It was the fifth pregnancy forced upon him, but the only one he'd carried to full term. With each one so far the chitauri had aborted the foetus at different points in time; apparently interested in the development of the hybrid at various stages. There'd been enough time between each termination and next impregnation for the deep surgical cuts along his stomach to heal into thick knots of heavy scar tissue. He'd been unsurprised to find that he felt nothing for the children. _Monsters: they aren't children, they're monsters.

_This one he'd carried to full term and he'd realised that he had been expecting to have this creature ripped out of his belly the same as the others. He hadn't considered or been mentally prepared for giving birth._

_And apparently chitauri didn't give birth in the same way that mammals, or Frost Giants, did. Loki vaguely remembered a Midgardian film Tony had forced him to watch in which an alien hibernated inside a human's chest before bursting out once fully developed. It seemed that that had been accidently based on fact when it came to the chitauri – although it was possible their exoskeleton allowed for them to survive the procedure. _

_He'd screamed like he'd never screamed before when the thing tried to rip it's way out._

_No one had come, no one had cared. It wasn't even as if he could speak to beg for help. He'd had to just lie there, desperately willing for it to be over – be it through death or otherwise. If he'd thought it impossible to die from pain before, he now knew that it was all too possible._

_Infact, the broken God hoped that it would be the case. _

_The creature hadn't burst its way out of his stomach in the end, despite its best efforts to do so. The hybrid nature of its genetics had deprived it of the sharp claws it would have needed to use – much like the egg tooth on the beak of a chick. Instead it had struggled and ripped with badly formed and mutated talons that weren't adequate to tear apart the tissue surrounding it. Eventually it had been born via the method Loki was more used to, but not before it had torn through its own umbilical cord and died of the oxygen deprivation._

_The cord wasn't all that had been cut, though, and the God lay huddled and motionless. If he managed to survive the blood loss and shock that was shivering through him then there was enough internal damage to ensure that he would never conceive again._

_It wasn't a thought that occurred to him, though._

_He was in so much pain that logical thought wasn't possible. He knew that the monstrous creature had been born, and could vaguely tell that there was something seriously wrong with himself, but it was back ground noise against the agony. He had been pretty much ripped apart from the inside out, blood washing between his legs and leaving a trail of gore from where he had dragged himself away from the mutated corpse. He didn't have the strength or will to check his injuries but he wouldn't have been surprised to know that his internal reproductive organs had been almost entirely ripped to shreds._

_He hardly cared anymore._

_So lying in a tiny cell, losing blood at a dangerous speed and with his still-borne child cast to one side, Loki closed his eyes to it all and surrendered to unconsciousness._

_MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMMW_

**You all still with me?**

**Well, those two aren't looking great, are they? Full details of what has just happened to Tony will be explained in the next chapter, but needless to say, he'd in trouble.**

**The warnings as promised in the author's note: Blood, still birth, child death, torture, mention of rape.**

**Love you all and thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here we go! Sorry it's a little late; to make up for that it's also about 10 Word Doc pages longer than my usual chapters.**

**Love and hugs to all of you who have left reviews, faves and follows! I haven't been able to reply to all of the reviews as I had wanted to so I'm going to make an extra big effort to do so this time! There you go; incentive to review :) **

**MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMMWMWMWMWMW**

Steve stood back helplessly as Bruce pulled the defibrillator from its box and ripped Tony's shirt open. The inventor's chest was mottled black with bruising, and although the arc reactor was still glowing brightly there was no rise and fall of Tony's rib cage. He wasn't breathing.

"Steve, there's a BMV in the medical kit on the wall, I need you to bring it over for me." Bruce was calm and authoritative, knowing exactly what needed to be done. He twisted the arc reactor and the release mechanism gave a sharp click as it came free so that he could place it beside Tony's head before attaching the pads of the defibrillator to the man's chest. When Steve hurriedly brought the Bag-Valve-Mask over the doctor fixed it deftly over Ironman's mouth and nose. "You've watched enough medical dramas, you know what to do. Squeeze the bag slowly and steadily; try to mimic a calm breathing rhythm."

If there was one thing Steve was good at it was following instructions in a tense atmosphere. He didn't waste time with questions and simply did as he was told, well aware that his actions were necessary to keep Tony from oxygen deprivation. He also knew to move back out of the way when Bruce ordered him clear and the defibrillator sent a shock through the unconscious man's chest.

Tony jerked, but there was no other response and the machine at Bruce's side sent its data to Jarvis who immediately informed them that there was no systolic rhythm. No pulse.

The sirens were still blaring but neither of the two men bothered to tell the AI to switch them off as they battled to save their friend's life. There needed to be a break between each shock, and Bruce began the cycle of chest compressions as Steve continued to use the small pump that breathed for Tony.

And there was no response. Stark lay there completely lifeless.

"Come on Tony!" Bruce was leaning his weight onto both hands; compress release, compress release. Over and over.

"What's happening to him?" Steve asked hopelessly.

"Cardiac arrest. It must have been the damn chest trauma!" The doctor had made the count to thirty and sat back on his heels. "Clear, I'm going to try the defib again."

The second try did nothing.

"God damnit, Tony! Don't you dare die on me!"

That hadn't been an outcome that had featured in Steve's mind, but hearing Bruce say the words made the situation's severity suddenly very clear.

Shock could be fatal.

"_Daddy_!"

Steve's head shot up as Evie's shriek rang through the laboratory. The two women and Evie had come down to find the reason behind the alarms and now the child was screaming.

"Pepper! Get her out of here!" Steve waved his arm angrily at her, even as she tried to take in the situation with wide eyes. However, whereas Pepper had frozen at the sight of Tony unconscious and unresponsive, Natasha was much quicker and managed to grab Evie as the child tried to run to her father.

"_Dad_! What's happening?! _Daddy_!" Evie was no match for the assassin's strength and although she twisted wildly in Natasha's grip she couldn't get free.

"Tasha, get her out of here!" Steve repeated his order, but that was easier said than done with how hard the girl was struggling.

"Right, defib again." Bruce's words were stilted as he continued the chest compressions. He glanced up at Tony's lax face and scowled angrily, putting renewed strength into the CPR until he reached the count of thirty and then turned back to the small defibrillator. "Clear." Once Steve had sat back the doctor sent another current through Tony's body.

Nothing.

For a brief moment the only sound in the room was Evie's sobbing, before Bruce snarled and doggedly kept going. "Not today, Tony. Not today!" Sweat was beginning to trickle down his forehead, dripping into his eyes. He kept up the mantra of 'not today' with each compression.

"Bruce…"

"Don't you dare stop, Steve!"

"How long…?"

"As long as it bloody takes!" There was a tinge of green to the doctor's eyes that made his friend immediately take back any other questions he might have had. Bruce would not…_could not_ give up on Ironman so easily.

He blocked out everything. Vaguely, in the background, he was aware of Evie wailing in Natasha's arms and of Pepper sobbing quietly. There was the soft noise of the air-pump that Steve was using, and the background hum of the machines. Bruce blocked it all out. All that he could focus on was his friend's ribcage under his hands as he manually forced Tony's heart to continue pumping blood.

Tony _couldn't_ die like this. If Ironman was to die it would be in a blaze of glory saving mankind – not on the floor of his workshop.

It wasn't just sweat dripping down his face now. Bruce couldn't be certain but he was pretty sure there were tears too.

Time was passing. Far too much time and still no response.

"Bruce…" There was a gentle hand on his shoulder, Pepper's hand. She was sobbing so hard that she could barely speak. Bruce didn't want to hear what she had to say. "It's been over half an hour…"

Had it? That seemed almost impossible, but the ache in his arms said otherwise.

"Bruce…Too much time has passed…"

That wasn't something he wanted to hear. He glanced at Evie out of the corner of his eye and saw the child's desperate pleading expression. By all accounts it was the same look she'd worn when Loki had been snatched away infront of her. Now she was watching her father die.

Bruce wasn't about to let that happen.

And he didn't know how to prevent it…

Nothing was _working_!

"Bruce…"

He brushed Pepper off without a word, doggedly continuing with the chest compressions. He wasn't going to lose his best friend! Evelyn would not lose another parent!

_Not today. Not today. Not today. Not today. Not today._

It wasn't working…Bruce knew that. The defibrillatorwasn't having an effect and there was only so long they could continue the artificial respiration. He couldn't lose Tony. But he was.

There was a second tap on his shoulder. Not a hand this time, but a small mechanical pincer that was accompanied by a quiet whirr. The doctor glanced up to see that Dummy had trundled up next to him, arm drooping as he took in the scene. There was something in the robot's grip that it gently placed down on Tony's stomach.

An Epipen.

Bruce stared at it.

"Good boy Dummy…"

It hadn't occurred to him. He was a doctor and it hadn't occurred to him. The vasoconstriction effects of the adrenaline were able to bring a body out of shock – it's why it was used – and with nothing else working Bruce was willing to give it a try. The Epipen was prescribed for Tony (he didn't have any known allergies but he played around with new materials so often it had been deemed a good idea to have one around just incase) so Bruce didn't have to worry about tailoring the dosage. Without wasting a moment the doctor snatched the small device up, pulled the cap off and jabbed the needle into Tony's thigh.

There was no visible response but he didn't expect one. Instead he finished the current cycle of chest compressions then motioned Steve back again and picked up the defibrillator for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

Tony's body jerked as the current raced through him again. This time, however, he drew in a deep ragged breath of his own.

"Tony?!" Bruce cupped his friend's face but although the man now breathed freely he wasn't conscious. However, the weak flutter of a pulse under his fingers was enough for the doctor to crack a small smile. "There's a heartbeat. Jarvis, I need you to get hold of the heart surgeon on Shield's Safe List."

"Already done, Doctor Cherington is on route and should be here within the next ten minutes."

"Great; we need to get a gurney in here and transport Tony up to the ICU-"

"Mr Barton is on his way down with one as we speak."

Bruce nodded with a sigh. "You are the very definition of a life saver, Jarvis."

"Thank you sir, I will do anything within my power to help him."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

The surgery lasted six hours. Shield had a selection of health professionals – the Safe List – that they trusted to work with agents or personnel and Jarvis had drafted in a top cardiac surgeon along with his team to operate. Bruce insisted on being in the theatre too, since he was well aware that Tony would hate to have anyone on Shield's payroll so close to the arc reactor.

It was possibly the worst six hours of the doctor's life since joining the Avenger's.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMMW

The Avenger's – including Fury – were congregated in the main room, waiting anxiously for news of what was happening. Jarvis was refusing to speak to them, and instead was metaphorically hovering nervously around the operating theatre in an attempt to find out all he could.

It seemed forever before Bruce finally came up to tell them that it was all over.

"What _happened_?" Pepper was the first one to ask the question once the doctor had been sat down and given a large drink of scotch. None of the team – Tony excluded – would usually endorse drinking alcohol so early on in the evening but some situations really did require it.

"Cardiogenic shock." Bruce said quietly. He took a sip of his drink and grimaced.

"Come again? Not all of us have a medical degree." Clint sounded annoyed, but they all knew him well enough to know that he was trying to hide just how worried he was.

The doctor hunched his shoulders, staring down at the tumbler in his hands. "It means his heart was badly damaged when the drone took him out, and when he went into shock he suffered from a myocardial infarction. A type of heart attack." He swirled the amber liquid around in the glass listlessly. "We successfully implanted an intra-aortic balloon pump and that kept him stable until he came out of shock."

"I thought that the Epipen did that…" Steve said quietly.

"The adrenaline boost brought back a heartbeat, but only briefly. He went back into arrest almost the same time that we got him into the operating theatre." Bruce glanced up as a blanket was wrapped around his shoulders and he looked up to try and smile at Natasha. "He's been lucky, though. The odds aren't good on surviving cardiogenic shock but he's through the worst of it."

The words made most of the group visibly relax. It seemed that Fury was the only one to pick up on what else that could imply.

"And now that he's out of shock? What are his chances?" For once the director sounded genuinely concerned for Tony- which was a novelty in itself. However, in his line of work, Fury had obviously come across this sort of situation before and knew what it could entail.

Bruce looked ill as he threw back the rest of the scotch. "Not great. In an ideal world I'd want to put him straight onto the list for a heart transplant. But…"

Fury looked grim. "The arc reactor."

"Yeah." The doctor shrugged slightly. "Jarvis is monitoring him closely and he's stable, but it's going to be touch and go for a long while."

There was silence after his explanation. 'Touch and go' were tricky words. They could mean that Tony would be alright, and merely not at 100% for a few months. Or they could very well mean that the man only had a fifty-fifty chance of living through it all.

And the Avenger's knew from Bruce's expression that it was the second option. Tony was still highly likely to die.

"Can you help him?" The voice was unexpected and they all glanced up. "Will you be able to save him, Doctor Banner?"

"I can try, Jarvis."

"Please. I will help in any way I can." They had never heard the AI plead before. "He can't be allowed to die."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

"_I have an army." Loki sneered._

"_We have a hulk." _Tony heard the words coming out of his mouth, but couldn't quite believe he was saying them. Of all the memories he had to relive it had to be this one! It hurt to see Loki standing there in all his glory and pain and anger.

"_Oh! I thought the beast had wandered off." The God sneered, gesturing off aimlessly with his sceptre._

"_Yeah, you're missing the point." _As his body followed through the path of the memory and walked down the steps, Tony was only focussing on his lover standing before him. The look of hatred and scorn on the God's face was unbearable. _"There's no throne. There's no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the earth you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it." _Even the memory of the brandy he sipped was bitter as he watched Loki's expression turn murderous. Of all the moments he and Loki had had, why did he have to relive the moment that the trickster had hated him and attempted to kill him? For all that he loved the God, he felt _fear_ as the tall man stalked towards him.

"_How will your friends have time for me, when they're so busy fighting you?" There was a whine of growing power as Loki raised his sceptre and Tony lowered his gaze in trepidation as the blade approached his chest._

_Tink_

Despite the emotions the memory was stirring, Tony had to mentally laugh at the look of pure confusion on Loki's face. At the time he hadn't been able to appreciate just how comical and adorable it was. He wanted to reach out and trace his hand across the tightly drawn brow and smooth away the frown-lines. The memory wouldn't allow it.

_Loki raised the sceptre again for a second try and again the melodious little clink echoed around the suddenly silent room._

"_This usually works…"_

He sounded and looked so genuinely confused that Tony wanted to hang a photo of the expression on the wall.

"_Well, performance issues…" _Damn his incessant need to insult people! He felt his body shrug mockingly._ "Not uncommon. One out of ten-"_

This was the bit he _really_ didn't want to remember. That sudden dawning realisation on Loki's face as he realised that he was being mocked and the absolute fury that this stupid human would dare to do so.

The two men's gazes met and Tony had to look into the eyes of the man he loved and see only hatred and a wish for his death. Loki's hand fastened around his throat, choking him.

The pain was still very real, despite just being a memory, as he was thrown to the floor.

"_Jarvis…any time now." _He struggled to his feet, watching Loki circle round and too slow to dodge when the God grabbed him tight around the throat again and drew him close.

"_You will all fall before me." Loki snarled into the man's ear._

Tony heard himself still calling out for Jarvis to deploy the suit, but in reality all he could focus on was how unfair it all was. To fall asleep every night hoping desperately to dream of the trickster only for this.

_SMASH!_

_And he was falling._

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

It was strange to see Tony so still and quiet. It didn't suit him. Tucked up in the white sheets of Stark Towers Intensive Care Unit he looked small and fragile. There was an oxygen mask over his mouth, an IV in his arm and an electrocardiogram monitoring his pulse. It was frightening to see the usually loud and boisterous man so silent.

Bruce had scanned Tony's other injuries and noted that although the fragments of shrapnel hadn't moved significantly in the time that the arc reactor had been removed, there were still extensive signs of stress to the muscle. Tony had a history of heart problems already – hence the reactor – and up until this point had already been in cardiac arrest at least three times in his life. They should have known that this would be coming. Bruce felt that he should have known.

It had been nearly five days since he'd collapsed.

"Evelyn, you shouldn't be in here."

The girl was curled up in the chair beside the bed, staring listlessly at one of her text books but glanced up as Bruce entered the room to check on Tony's condition.

"Why not?" She asked quietly. "I want to be with my Dad."

"Evie…"

"He's going to get better, you know!"

Bruce smiled slightly. "Yes, of course he is." He checked the level in the IV bag, aware of the child watching him like a hawk. "He should wake up soon." He added.

Because waking up wasn't going to be the problem. It would be telling Tony that he was going to spend however long he had left that he was living on borrowed time.

Ironman was over.

"What are you reading?" Bruce asked, trying to change the topic.

Evie flipped her book up at him – it was one of those texts trying to explain puberty to growing girls. "Dad gave me The Talk, now I'm reading up on it."

"Do you understand it?"

"I…think so. Most of it is disgusting."

The doctor laughed slightly. "Yes. Yes it is."

The girl watched him replace the IV bag with a new one, frowning as she realised that it was different. "What are you doing?"

"This will stop him from being dehydrated when he wakes up."

"Will he really wake up soon?"

"Yes. Of course." Bruce smiled at her.

He was right, of course, although they had to wait a while longer. It was another twelve hours before Jarvis alerted Bruce that Tony was beginning to gain consciousness, and Evie had been packed off to bed by that point, despite her protestations. It might have seemed heartless not to let her stay up but Jarvis had strict Views about bedtime, and had always maintained that a routine would help keep her level-headed when the Avengers were out fighting. He applied this logic to Tony being injured too.

So when the man finally started to stir only Bruce was with him.

Tony opened his eyes grudgingly in the same manner as when he had a hangover – as if any and every movement could cause an unimaginable headache. He squinted at the blurred figure of his best friend until Bruce's smile swam into view.

"Hey Tony, how are you feeling?"

"…Like shit…"

"Yes, that isn't surprising." Bruce checked the read-out on the monitor next to the bed and smiled brighter. "Your vitals are looking much better, though, even if you aren't." He picked up the glass of water on the bed-side table and helped Tony take a couple of sips through the straw. When the inventor rested his head back down on the pillow he squinted at Bruce in confusion.

"What happened? Can't remember…what happened."

"You remember the drone?" Bruce waited for the look of recognition in his friend's eyes, and once it was there he continued. "You had severe chest trauma and when you went into shock your heart stopped." He indicated the IV that fed into Tony's hand. "You're on dobutamine for now, but I think you're passed the worst of it so I can start lowering the dose."

"I had a…heart attack?"

"Not really." The doctor slumped into the chair beside the bed. "Look, you've just woken up. Let's leave this conversation for another time." He didn't like the sudden scrutiny in Ironman's gaze. "What?"

"Shock. You said shock…" Tony turned his tired gaze up to the ceiling and it spoke volumes for his brain-power that he could go from unconscious to critically analytical in such a short space of time. It was almost possible to see the cogs turning. "It was cardiogenic shock…right? That's why you don't want to talk about it." One hand crept down the blankets covering his legs until he felt the bulge of bandages wrapped around his left thigh.

Bruce noticed where the man's attention was and sighed heavily. Tony just didn't know how to stop thinking about things. Even when recovering from a heart attack.

"You had to…stick a pump up…my leg. Didn't you?" Stark rasped. "It was that bad…?"

"It still is that bad, Tony."

"Will I die?" The question was quiet but emotionless. Tony turned his head slightly to face his friend, looking mildly curious. "Is this going to kill me…?"

Bruce had faced such questions in the past. It was one of the worst but inevitable parts of being a doctor and something he had handled enough in the past. But not with a friend. Never with a friend.

"Yes." He said simply.

"Oh. Okay. Great…" Stark swallowed thickly, fixing his gaze on the ceiling. "How long?"

"I don't know. It could be ten years, it could be ten days."

"Grand…"

Bruce felt his own chest constricting tightly, a lump blocking his throat as he watched his friend try to absorb that news. "Tony, I'm…"

"Don't. Don't say you're sorry." Tony raised a hand to his face – ignoring the IV line connected to the back of his hand – and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I've had medical death sentences before. This isn't new." He sounded so _tired_.

"Look, we don't have to talk about this now." Bruce moved to sit down on the side of the bed, reaching out to rest his hand on top of his friends'. "You've been unconscious for nearly six days, the best thing right now is to rest and let your body heal."

"How's Evie been?"

It was a question that the doctor had been dreading. "She's terrified, but keeping it together."

"'Course she is; she's a Stark." Tony tried to smile, but the expression didn't reach his eyes. "Starks are champs at keeping it together under pressure."

"Do I sense another Game of Thrones joke coming on?" Bruce asked sardonically.

"I hope not. Most of the Starks in that one die. I don't intend to do that for a while."

"Glad to hear it."

Tony sighed heavily and tried to smile again. "So…If I'm on a time limit I'd better get my act together in finding Loki, huh? Jarvis, make a note of that please; Get arse in gear and find Loki."

There was an uncharacteristic pause before the AI answered. "Of course, sir."

"You okay, Jarv?"

"All the more so for seeing you awake, sir. This was the first time I have had to experience the emotion of panic, sir, and I did not enjoy it one bit."

"I'm sorry, Jarv, I'll try not to do it again."

MWMWMWMWMMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

To begin with they took it one day at a time.

As Bruce had said; there was the chance that they could lose Tony at any moment and although the longer he lived the better his chances were, the team still fretted around him.

It wasn't just the physical implications either. Everything had been turned on its head both within the Avenger's Initiative and more intimately within the Stark household.

Tony couldn't do _anything_ that required physical exertion. He couldn't go for a walk, couldn't go shopping, wasn't allowed to use a hammer in the workshop. Hell, he couldn't even walk up stairs and was resigned to taking an elevator if he wanted to go anywhere in the tower. He had cut down on the drinking when Evie was born, but now wasn't allowed any alcohol whatsoever and for a long while Bruce was even restricting his diet. Up to and including decaffeinated coffee that, up until then, had been banned from the tower.

All of these things were bearable. Even being unable to do the heavier manual labour in his workshop was something Tony could live with – especially since it meant that there was a greater possibility that he _would_ live. However, there was one thing that _was_ horrendous.

He could no longer use the suit.

Ever again.

The very thought was stifling.

His team seemed to think that the suit – whilst obviously extremely important to him – was still just that; a suit. But it really really _wasn't_. The suit – in all its incarnations – represented his freedom and his life.

It had been born from darkness and desperation, baptised in the blood of both his friend and his enemies and had lifted him from Hell and back into the arms of his family. There was nothing Tony couldn't do when he was in the suit. It was everything about him that he had hidden from everyone all his life. Every new version had a little piece more of his soul in it. Every rivet, screw, circuit and wire had been placed under the influence of strong emotions. Anytime he had needed to let off steam, he had gone and worked on the suit. Anytime he had been upset he had gone and worked on the suit. Celebratory, sad, happy, drunk, frustrated; pretty much every emotion had at some time or another been hammered, welded or riveted into the suit.

It wasn't simply _made_ by Tony, it _was_ Tony.

And in the worst way possible it had been taken away from him.

He could sit there, all day every day staring at the symbol of his freedom and know that he would never _ever_ be able to use it again.

It was…well, the term 'heartbreaking' might have been appropriate if it hadn't been for the medical emergency he'd just survived.

Once upon a time Tony might have succumbed to depression in such a state. However, he had one thing that his former self hadn't had; a support network. Jarvis and Pepper had always been there for him but now when he found himself staring morosely out of the window at the perfect flying conditions he had a child to distract him. When he wanted to have a drink with the group to celebrate something he had Natasha; who could make a virgin daiquiri that genuinely seemed alcoholic.

Nothing was perfect, nothing was easy and nothing was the same, but his friends and family – close enough as to be the same thing really – were able to keep him from falling down the black pit of despair that could have easily swallowed him whole.

They took it a day at a time and slowly things began to fall back into place.

For the first time since Loki had been taken they spent Evelyn's birthday at home – a quiet affair of films and junk food that suited the eleven year old perfectly. She had grown up considerably since Tony's accident; favouring sitting quietly with her father now, rather than tearing around the place like she used to.

It came and went without incident, as did Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

And finally, _finally_ Tony went back into the suit work-shop for the first time in the six months since his accident and started looking at the Ironman armour once more in a different light. The team work up the next morning to Jarvis fretting that the man hadn't slept and was still working, just as he once had.

It was a comforting return to the familiar even though it left them all wondering what Stark could possibly be doing down there.

The answer came sooner than they expected when Ironman – fully suited up – stomped into the living room and challenged Clint to a game of table tennis. The suit looked very much the same as when they'd last seen it – well, obviously the damage had been fixed, but other than that it seemed essentially the same.

"Uh…Tony? Are you alright?"

"Never better! Come on, I want to test the new flexibility!"

Bruce and Clint stared at him. This was not really surprising to be honest. They had been expecting Tony to have some sort of rebellion against the strict rules his new medical condition imposed upon him and to be frank, trying to play ping pong whilst wearing the suit wasn't the worst that could have happened. Even so, Bruce was still unhappy.

"Tony, the weight of that thing alone could be too much for you-"

"Trust me, it's fine." Tony had moved to the table and was throwing a bat from hand to mechanised hand. "Come on Clint, I want to see how the new wrist joint functions!"

Barton took up his own bat rather cautiously, looking between Bruce and Tony. "Um…I'm sure a couple of rounds won't do any harm…"

"Good boy, this is why I still feed you."

Bruce held his hands up in surrender, sitting back down on the couch. "Fine. One _short_ game and then take the suit straight off again."

"Yes Dad." Tony shifted his weight from side to side in a parody of a professional tennis player before serving the ping-pong ball to Clint. He must have known that against the professional sharp-shooter he didn't really have a hope in hell of actually winning, but Barton went easy and allowed him to get a few shots in.

Whatever Tony was testing seemed to be working since he returned the ball easily, light on his feet and the joints of the suit working effortlessly.

_Very_ light on his feet.

Bruce narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Tony, I'm just going to go down to the workshop. I'm sure you won't mind."

"Huh?!" Tony spun round, the ball pinging off the back of his helmet. "No! There's some…uh…Bruce! Wait!"

However, the other scientist had already left the sofa and was calmly walking towards the staircase. Stark dropped his bat and rushed after him, still protesting loudly and Clint followed – obviously sensing some form of entertainment.

"- Really important experiments, full of radiation, really not worth the risk –" Tony was trying and failing to get infront of Bruce to stop him and was beginning to look like a guilty puppy. It was almost as obvious as a teenage lad trying to hide his porn stash after knowing that mum's already found it.

Bruce calmly entered the code into the doors and although Tony screamed at Jarvis to deny entry the AI just replied apologetically that he thought it was probably better to allow Dr Banner in. There was a very childlike mutter of 'traitor' from the billionaire in response.

As the door slide open they heard a child's laughter at Tony's comment to Jarvis and Evie stood up from her stool by the work bench to wave them over.

"He's sulking now!" She proclaimed happily.

True enough Tony – _another_ Tony, or at least one not wearing a suit – was sat on the floor surrounded by wires with a rather curious visor and pair of gauntlets on and pouting grumpily. He pulled the headgear off to glare up at his two friends and as he did so the suit that had been walking behind them powered down.

"You weren't supposed to figure it out that quickly!" He snapped.

"Tony, you're acting like a child whose joke has been ruined-" Clint started to say, but Bruce pushed him out of the way to get a better look at the readouts on the computer Tony was connected to.

"Tony…this is amazing! How long have you been working on this?" The other scientist was scrolling through the data, his eyes lighting up.

Stark pulled himself to his feet – stripping off the gauntlets and remaining wires. "I'd planned it years ago but didn't see the point in all the time and effort it would take. I remembered it when I was still bed-ridden and the moment I could get back into the workshop I started implementing it."

"To be fair, sir, I did a lot of the work." Jarvis sounded put out and Tony smiled tiredly.

"True. Once I told Jarvis what I was planning he put everything into place. I just needed to explain to him how things needed to be put together and sort out some of the programming."

"It's…what? Running off of muscle movements? But how were you sitting down to use it?" Bruce was now turning the visor over in his hands. "Surely you'd have to imitate the movements you'd want the suit to do to make it work."

Tony beamed. "To begin with yeah. But then I figured that that's not really a good thing for me to do what with a bad ticker and all, so I adapted the idea." He held up one of the pads that had been attached to his shoulder. "It's like a bionic limb; I just upgraded the tech. It works off of the muscle stimuli that are unconsciously sent when I think about making a certain movement. Needed a fair bit of work though, that's why it's taken me so long to test drive it. I've had to train myself and the program to learn every type of muscle movement I might make to make the suit react. It's kinda like a full body sign language."

Clint looked slightly bemused. "That sounds like a hell of a lot of work."

"Worth it though." Tony slipped a gauntlet back on and made the suit walk over to its podium on the far side of the workshop. He then handed the piece of tech to his daughter and turned back to his friends with a broad grin. "Don't you see? With this I can be Ironman again! Sure, it won't really be _me_ out there, but it will be as good as having me with you. And it's stress free on my part! Win-win situation! I can still fly the suit, just by remote control instead, and you don't have to worry about me keeling over and dying in mid-air. Perfect!"

Bruce returned the infectious grin. "You know what? I think it might well be."

"Uh…" Clint looked between them. "Seriously? Is this a thing?" He flicked his finger against the visor. "You lock yourself away for a few days and 'boom'! New suit with ridiculously advanced tech, simple as that?"

Tony shrugged slightly. "Well, I wouldn't say simple. I had Jarvis started on this months ago – I've just spent the past few days checking it all over." He pushed the archer away from his precious work. "But it felt good to know that I was still able to work on something, even if only doing the theory." He glanced up at them, eyes suddenly hard and cold. "I will _not_ be useless! I am Ironman and a stupid medical ailment isn't going to stop that!"

"It's still risky-"

"Yeah, so I built in fail safes. I can sit on the sofa directing the suit and Jarvis can monitor my vitals. If he notices anything wrong with me or if I get dangerously stressed then he will cut the link between me and the suit and fly it himself."

"Why not just have Jarvis fly the suit himself anyway?" Clint asked, well aware that his question was a little less than tactful. "Sure, I know you want to be doing something, but you could work on upgrades and Jarvis would do the grunt work."

Tony rolled his eyes in the usual familiar gesture of disbelief over how thick his team mates could be. "Haven't you ever seen or read _I Robot_?"

"Will Smith film, right?"

"That's the one."

Clint scrunched his face up in confusion. "What's blowing up a female version of Jarvis got to do with this?"

"Yes, sir, what _has_ blowing up an AI very similar to myself in all respects got to do with this?" Jarvis sounded both hurt and annoyed as he responded to Barton's question.

Stark held his hands up in surrender with a chuckle. "Sorry Jarv, I didn't mean it like that. If anything you're far more likely to go Skynet on us and create the terminators. No I meant the problem is that as much as you have an emotional capacity, you are still governed by the rules of probability. In a pinch you would follow the odds and rescue the person with the greatest chance of survival."

"That's not such a bad thing, sir."

"No, but that's just not how humans work. We'd save the kid with less of a chance of survival than the granny who would be easier to save. And even then that's not definite. We're complex creatures and as amazingly advanced as you are, you still aren't _quite_ human."

Evie looked up, finally taking an interest in the conversation. "Neither am I! I'm a frost giant! RAWR!" She curled her hands into claws and bared her teeth. Tony laughed and patted her on the head.

"Yeah, my super scary Jötunn."

"So…Have you spoken to Fury about this grand plan of yours?" Clint was still prodding the new machinery, but rolled his eyes and removed his hand again when Tony picked up a wrench and eyed his fingers threateningly.

"Not yet, kinda hoping I could have some team back-up when I do" He glanced between the scientist and assassin hopefully. "If you guys can persuade him that it's a good idea then maybe he won't be quite as mad when I use it regardless of his answer."

Bruce glanced back at the computer screens before nodding slowly. "Yeah. I guess we can try."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMMWMW

Fury…Well. He took some convincing.

There was no way he'd have ever taken Tony's word on it alone, but having Bruce backing up the science helped. Obviously the science of the suit wasn't the problem, but Ironman's heart problems were more than enough worry on their own. In the end it took Jarvis bringing up the data from the tests on the new suits to prove that Tony hadn't been under any unusual stress whilst using the new set-up and that there were fail-safes should anything seem amiss.

Fury wasn't happy, but in the end he also didn't have a good enough reason to say no.

The first time the Avengers were called out after that, Ironman was back with them. His absence had been noticed by the media and left unexplained so seeing the suit flying with the team again made headlines across America. The group arrived back home to find Tony sat on the couch in the living room, visored and gauntleted up and grinning smugly.

It was Pepper who made the decision to keep her boss' heart condition and the fact that Ironman was now unmanned a secret. She had determined that firstly people would be more likely to try and take Tony out if they knew he had an existing condition and also that as selfish as it sounded, the shares in Stark Industries would sink like the Titanic if it was known that the Stark behind the name was dying.

And so life returned to something that could vaguely approach normal.

Tony was still careful about everything he did, and after a brain-wave one night put a small chip into the arc reactor to monitor his heart at all times. It not only watched his pulse and blood pressure, but was also able to detect any stresses on the muscle, or tears that might develop. So far so good, nothing had come to light.

It would have been hard to get through the holiday season without alcohol, though, if it weren't for Natasha. The Russian mixed up a drink that, among other things, included beetroot juice, ginger and tabasco and was capable of mimicking the immediate effects of alcohol – most notably the burn in the throat – whilst not containing any alcohol whatsoever. It also had the added side-effect of not ending in a hangover the next morning, which Tony rather appreciated.

With that one recipe they started working out other details and by Christmas there was a large selection of faux-drinks stocked up. Easily enough for Tony to pretend to get wasted on at any rate and Evie was thrilled to learn that she was allowed to drink them too since technically they didn't contain anything untoward.

This time was also the first festive season when the girl sorted out the lanterns on her own. After that first Christmas without Loki they had made sure to keep up with the tradition of setting off the lights each year and the first Christmas of living with Tony's heart problem Steve had helped set it up. However this year, now twelve years old, Evelyn dealt with it when she realised that it was too much to ask for on top of all Tony's medical problems.

And…Well, time moved on.

Jarvis furiously worked on the data from the telescope, Tony grew more proficient at using the new type of suit, Fury became less – well they didn't like to use the word _protective_ but that really was how it came across – of Ironman and as months turned into years Evie continued to grow up.

It hit home just how old she really was when Tony accidently spotted her and Pepper coming back from the store with a box of tampons. He'd had to go and have a quiet freak-out in his lab whilst trying to come to terms with the thought that his little princess was actually becoming a woman. Still, for all of his sudden squeamishness, Evie certainly seemed to appreciate it a few months later when he found her lying on the couch in the main room looking very sorry for herself and wordlessly handed her a hot water bottle.

She really wasn't a little girl anymore and it seemed to bug her as much as it did her father.

And so suddenly as to be unbelievable, her birthday's were coming and going. All those years, passing in a flash. That tiny screaming baby Stark had helped into the world was well on her way into adulthood.

Loki had been missing for seven years. Tony had been living with a terminal heart problem for three of those. If the trickster was even still alive, Stark was running out of time in which to try and save him.

The Christmas of Evie's fourteenth year was the same routine that they had slipped into. Quiet, comfortable and familial. For all that only Tony and Evelyn were related, the years had slowly bonded the team from colleagues to friends to family. Even Thor – a Pagan God in his own right and therefore quite entitled to demand a proper Yule – was more than content to celebrate the birth of a different religion's God simply because it was how the rest of the Avenger's had been brought up.

Each team member brought something slightly different to the festivities, which had – over the years – cemented into their Christmas traditions as a mismatched family. Natasha introduced the tale of Babushka that she retold every year, and always insisted on making Russian specialities that she remembered from her childhood. Steve insisted that every stocking had to have an orange in it. Clint knew how to make Danish cinnamon cookies from his time touring in the circus and would pull the recipe out each year and take over the kitchen. Bruce surprised everyone with his mum's method of slow-cooking the turkey and after the first time it was always his job to make sure that the bird was cooked to perfection. It took a while for Thor to get into the swing of things, but after a few years he had worked out the main elements of the Christian festival and introduced the team to some Aesir games that were played after the main meal at Yule. Tony and Evie continued their little lantern tradition each Christmas evening, and each time the Christmas greetings sent out with the lights became just a little more hopeless.

And finally there was Pepper's input.

After a brief, but sadly unsuccessful relationship with Happy, she went back to spending her Christmas's with Tony – and therefore everyone else – and brought her own little custom of watching _Love Actually_. It was something that the others never complained about so swiftly became part of the day.

This particular Christmas they had just started talking again as the credits rolled when Jarvis interrupted the conversation.

"Excuse me, sir, might I speak with you a moment?"

Tony waved his non-alcoholic eggnog at the ceiling. "It's Christmas Day, Jarv, what could possibly have come up?"

"That's just it, sir. It is Christmas, and as I have observed over the years, it is customary to give gifts."

"Did you get me a gift, Jarvis?" Tony asked teasingly.

"Yes, sir."

That was almost slightly scary. Tony knew his AI was beyond anything ever seen before, but it was still rather awe-inspiring to realise that the robot had developed an emotional capacity large enough to understand the want to give a present to someone close.

"In a manner of speaking." Jarvis continued smoothly. "It's taken a while but I have managed to gather together all the data from the telescope, extrapolate it, run it through my algorithms and analyse the results."

The credits on the TV screen vanished to be replaced with the 3D renderings of nearly two hundred planets, moons, asteroids and other celestial bodies.

"I have determined that these are the planetary objects that are likely to have a liveable atmosphere. According to my workings; the data from the telescope is showing all of these to have atmospheres very similar to the one this planet is believed to have had roughly a billion years ago. This means they a very likely to be similar to us now."

Tony stared at the collection of small spherical and near-spherical shapes on the screen.

"Loki's…On one of those?"

"I believe it is highly likely, sir. I will give the data to Master Thor to deliver to Heimdall and hopefully we shall soon know which one."

"Jarvis…I love you. You know that, right?"

"Thank you, sir. Merry Christmas."

MWMWMWMWMWMMWMWMWWMWMWMWM

Thor left on Boxing Day to take the coordinates Jarvis had compiled to the all-seeing watchman. There was no way of knowing how well Heimdall would be able to focus on an area outside of the nine realms, but he himself had stated that with the coordinates it would be much easier for him to try.

Even Tony didn't fully understand how it was meant to work. From what they could gather, Heimdall could see anywhere within the nine realms (something that despite Thor's best efforts they also couldn't really get their heads around the concept of) but trying to see beyond that boundary required guidance as to where to look. In the end the best way Tony could visualise it himself was as if Heimdall was searching the internet. The nine realms were his desk top and therefore he could 'see' everything within them. However, outside of the nine realms was like the infinite expanse of the internet – and that it was almost impossible to find one single piece of data without help. The coordinates Jarvis had given were the stellar equivalent of Googling the whereabouts of the chitauri and now Heimdall only had to go through the few search results.

Or that was how Tony figured it, anyway. He was also pretty certain that it was nothing like that in reality, but what the hey.

Almost the moment that Thor left Tony went back down to his lab and locked himself in.

To begin with they left him to it, but after he missed two meals Bruce was sent down to find out what he was up to. Jarvis had been unusually silent, refusing to help winkle Tony out of the lab and would only give cryptic remarks about it being 'unsafe' down in the workshops. And if that didn't scare Bruce then there was little else that would!

However, it seemed that however unsafe said workshops were, Stark was actually being rather sensible and doing his work by remote. Bruce found him sat outside one of the high containment laboratories, watching through the bullet-proof glass as a remote controlled suit pottered around inside the area.

"Tony? What are you up to-?"

Tony raised a hand to silence him, never taking his eyes off the suit whilst his fingers danced over the laptop he was holding. The concentration on his face made it clear that this was far more than just a little science experiment. Bruce came and took the spare seat next to him, looking over his shoulder at the laptop screen.

For a moment Banner was bewildered by the images and numbers shooting across the monitor before he paled, turning to look in horror at the suit inside the room.

"Tony-"

"Not a word, Bruce."

"But _Tony_…"

"Shut up."

Because Bruce _knew_ those numbers. He _knew_ the little Greek symbols that scrolled across the screen.

He was a nuclear physicist after all.

And most of all he knew those symbols and knew how they related to the deceptively small object that the Ironman suit was working on inside the contained room.

"Tony – No! Listen to me! – how well shielded is it in there?!"

"Well enough."

"And if it goes wrong?!"

Tony glanced at him; a brief look that said 'oh yea of little faith' before turning back to the job in hand. "I don't mess up."

Bruce continued to stare at his friend in horror. "You know we said you shouldn't do anything high stress!"

"I'm not stressed."

Jarvis cut in to confirm this. "He's right, Dr Banner, his blood pressure and pulse rate are both within acceptable levels given his condition."

"Good boy, Jarv, have a Scooby Snack."

"But Tony that's a –"

Tony sighed theatrically, hit a button that caused the remote-controlled suit to pause and turned to glare at his friend.

"Bruce. Dr Banner. Mr Mean and Green. Why are you trying to tell me what I'm making? I am perfectly aware of what I'm making in there and of how bloody dangerous the end product will be." He snapped. "I'm not exactly being careless here."

Bruce stared straight back – all too used to Stark tantrums to be put off. "Carelessness isn't the point, Tony. What happens if there's an earthquake and that thing is set off? You'd level the city! And for Gods sake I thought you weren't making weapons anymore!"

"This one won't be aimed at humans." The icy coldness in Tony's voice was something that had almost never been heard before. Sure he often sounded angry or pissed off, but this deep and dark hatred was something else.

"This is for the chitauri?"

Stark's jaw clenched, his hands curling into tense fists as he stared woodenly through the glass into the work shop. "They hurt Evie. They made her bleed and they made her cry. She had to watch her mother sacrifice himself for her safety and that has been her living nightmare ever since! So _they will burn_."

Burn was an understatement.

The little object inside the containment room looked for all the world like one of Tony's usual missiles that were situated in the suits shoulders. However, the box labelled 'U235' made it extremely clear that this missile was not one anyone wanted to be near. Uranium 235.

A nuclear missile.

"You see, I found some of my Dad's old files." Tony sounded a little stilted as he checked the calculations on the screen infront of him. "Evie wanted the filing cabinet that was falling apart in my office so I cleared it out. Mostly full of out-dated junk and party invites from the sixties. And then there was one little folder buried at the back that suddenly gave me an idea. Dad worked for the government during the war, you see. Of course you know that already; it's how and why Steve exists. Anyway, he did more than just help mad scientists create super-soldiers and he always _always_ kept records of what he was doing. So I found this."

He gestured blindly towards the work surface that was covered in paper-work. Bruce had to stare at it for a moment before his gaze was drawn to one folder in particular. Brown and stern, it had the title redacted – a thick black line obscuring any and all text on the front. However, when Bruce flipped it open the bold print inside hadn't been masked and he dropped it like it had turned into a poisonous snake.

The folder fell to the floor, Howard Stark's clear handwriting proudly declaring the name of the plans.

_The Manhattan Project._

"I thought you didn't want to be like your Father."

"I'm nothing like him. He helped design this monstrosity to win a war. I'm doing it for personal revenge. I'm now officially a bigger arsehole than he could ever be."

For a long moment Bruce just stared at his best friend.

"Tony…"

The inventor clenched his fist tightly for a moment, anger flitting across his face before he dropped his head to rest on the thin top edge of the laptop screen with a pained sigh.

"I want them dead, Bruce." He said hoarsely. "I want to destroy each and every one of those creatures."

"You can't destroy an entire race, Tony."

Tony let out a choked sort of laugh – the parallels to Loki and Jötunheim were too much for him to miss. "And why the hell can't I? These fuckers invaded _my_ planet, killed _my_ species, kidnapped _my _lover and hurt _my _daughter. I. Want. Them. _Dead_."

"And nuking them will make all of that better?"

"It'll damn well make me feel better!"

"Did that work the first time?" Bruce didn't remember Tony flying a nuclear warhead through a wormhole, but the Hulk had made it pretty clear that it wasn't an experience anyone wanted to repeat.

There was a telling silence in response to the question whilst Tony stared pointedly into the room where his suit was closing the casing on the newly completed missile. "I…" The inventor shook his head slightly. "I feel like I have to do _something_, Bruce. I'm sitting here, not knowing if Loki's even alive anymore and I need to do _something_. It's been seven _years_. Evie's almost grown up, I'm now saddled with a terminal heart problem, life has had to move on and that _sucks_."

"You built the most advanced telescope the world has ever seen." Bruce countered softly. "Hell, NASA is still trying to even come close to something like it. That sounds like doing something."

"But it's not _enough_!" Tony slammed his fist down on the work-surface. "Seven _years_, Bruce! God only knows what Loki has been put through in that time! Hell, for all I know they killed him the moment they had him. I could have spent all this time only to find a grave. Or maybe they didn't even dignify him with that." His whole posture was tensed up, curled over the laptop as he tried to bite back the emotions that were fighting to get out. "And what happens if I do get him back? Huh? What then?"

The man looked tortured, and Bruce reached out to gently rest his hand on Tony's shoulder, a reassuring touch whilst not interrupting his friend.

"I say I love him." Tony whispered. "And I do. Really, I do. But now I wonder how that can be true. We barely ever saw each other and it's been so long. My memory could well be turning him into some sort of ideal. I could be in love with a memory that isn't even real any more. Maybe hadn't ever been real." The tenseness was becoming gentle shivers and his breath hitched in his throat. "I'm so afraid, Bruce. What if he isn't what I remember? What if they've broken him so much he doesn't remember, or doesn't care or his mind isn't even there anymore? _What if I never get him back_?"

The last words were slurred as an unsurprising sob overtook them.

"Tony…" Bruce pulled his chair closer to allow his friend to slump into him. "Tony, don't do this to yourself…"

"_I want them all to burn_."

"I know, Tony. I know."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Bruce kept Tony's little project to himself. They had further words on the matter, but never reached a resolution beyond the inventor agreeing not to make any more of the missiles. He never told Bruce that the one alone would be more than sufficient.

However they were both distracted when Thor returned a day later, declaring that he had given Heimdall the coordinates and had been sent back to wait until if or when the Gatekeeper might find something.

This resulted in the motley crew sitting in the cinema – which had ever more been used as their conference room due to the comfy chairs – discussing what the next plan of action should be. After all, even if Heimdall were able to pin-point Loki's exact location down to the nearest millimetre they would still have the issue of getting that far across the universe.

"-So the Bifrost is entirely out of the question?" Steve didn't seem to be able to get his head around the point. It had been explained quite thoroughly that the bridge had never quite recovered from having its end smashed off (which Thor was quite contrite about now, although it really had been the best way at the time). It was doubtful if Heimdall would have been able to send anyone that far even before the breaking, but now it was certainly out of the question.

Which all in all rather buggered their plans for reaching Galaxy IC 1101.

"Look, can't we just fix the bloody bridge?" Clint asked. He had his head in his hands, whole posture speaking of exasperation. "And by 'we' I mean the two resident geniuses."

"Yeah, sure, let me get my book on 'How to Fix Magic Bridges For Dummies." Tony snapped in response. "And don't swear infront of Evelyn!"

Said girl rolled her eyes. She had insisted on being present for the meeting – and since it was technically a logistics discussion there was no valid reason to refuse her – and had so far stayed quiet with her tablet in the corner. "Dad, I know how to swear, I'm not a kid."

"Are you 21 yet? No? Then you're a kid."

Evie scowled and pointedly turned her back to her father.

"Um…" They had Jane on video-call up on the big screen and she looked uncomfortable interrupting the family tiff. "So, I've been working on the Bifrost for years now. I can't claim to know how it works exactly, but from what I've got so far it looks like there must be some way to strengthen it. The math at least suggests that it would be possible."

Tony turned back from trying to stop his daughter from sulking. "Math? Ooh, gimme!" He made grabby-hand motions. Jane smiled indulgently and a moment later the equations streamed along the screen underneath the video.

To most of the group they were completely incomprehensible, just strings of numbers and Greek letters. Tony frowned at the data and Bruce sat up a little straighter in his chair staring at the screen. Evie gave it a go, but without knowing the background to the calculations she didn't have much of a chance no matter how good her maths was.

"I've gone over it quite a bit myself, you know." Jane sounded slightly annoyed at how her work was being scrutinised by the two men. "As I said; there's a possibility for something here, but what that is I'm not quite sure."

Natasha shook her head slightly. "Anyone else not got a clue what's going on right now?"

There was a show of hands from the rest of the room.

Bruce jumped in before Tony could make a condescending remark. "It's hard to describe without you having a solid background in theoretical physics, but what you're seeing is the Bifrost's working broken down into mathematical formulae." He held up a hand to stop Stark from trying to butt in. "I won't go into details, but what we can see from this is that there are constants that would allow the Bifrost's effects to be amplified."

Natasha slowly nodded before shaking her head again. "No. Maybe I'm losing something in translation."

"Nope. English is my first language and I don't have a clue what he's talking about either." Clint said blankly.

"It's very simple. The Bifrost is like the transporters in StarTrek and Heimdall is like Scotty. And right now the transporters don't have enough power, but there's a way for Scotty to give them more."

Everyone turned to look at Evie where she sat smirking at them.

"You look worryingly like your Möhdy when you smile like that…" Thor said slowly.

"Well I'm right, aren't I?"

"Yes…But that's still rather impressive." Jane said.

"You _do_ know who my parents are, right?"

Tony grinned whilst patting his daughter on the shoulder. "Alright, Birdy. Stop showing off." She stuck her tongue out at him and he pretended to smack her on the back of the head. "So, everyone get it now? Bifrost needs a bit more juice if we want to get to the other side of the universe."

"And I take it no-one knows what would do that?" Steve asked.

Thor shrugged hopelessly as the collective eyes of the room turned to him. "The question has never arisen. It would take a great sorcerer to know how to extend the Bifrost's reach. And unfortunately that sorcerer would be Loki."

"Yeah, that sucks." Clint rested his chin on the heel of his hand with a sigh. "Can't you just hook the damn thing up to a power-source of some sort?"

Tony huffed with sarcastic laughter. "Oh yeah, let me just stick the almighty Norse Duracell Battery in and we're set to go!"

"Don't be a dick, Tony, I just meant if the Vikings are hiding anything like the Tesseract that could help."

The inventor shrugged and looked at Thor. "I dunno. You got anything as powerful as the Tesseract? That thing could probably have done it considering the readings we got off it. Looked like it was made of pure energy – could have been handy. So yeah. Anything like that floating around?"

The God looked confused at the question, glancing around at the curious faces. "I do not understand. Why do you assume the Tesseract is gone? We have it still on Asgard. But!" He held up a hand as Bruce tried to interrupt with an exclamation. "But, there would be no way to link it to the Bifrost. They are two completely different energy sources. I agree that its power would be more than enough, but there is no link. You would need to connect the Tesseract's unique form of energy to the magical energy of the Bifrost."

"And…what? You don't have guys who can do that for us?" Bruce asked.

"Again; Loki."

"Huh."

Tony had copied Clint's pose; chin on the heel of his hand. "So it's just a question of linking two different energy sources. That doesn't sound…too…hard…" He trailed off under Thor's condescending gaze. It was un-nerving really – usually he was the one pulling that look on the God. "What? It's not that easy?"

"No. You would need the connection to be of both energies and you do not have the magical capabilities to make such an object."

"Oh." Tony sounded like a put out teenager. He sat back in his chair with a scowl as the conversation of the others washed over him. He didn't like being told that he couldn't do something.

Bruce was quizzing Thor on any other objects that could possibly do the same job as the Tesseract whilst the rest tried to keep up with the conversation but Tony's mind couldn't let go of the problem freshly presented.

So…They needed something that was linked between two separate forms of energy. He'd done such things before. Of course, it helped to be familiar with said energies first. It was probably comparable to turning heat energy into kinetic; except that the bridge and the Tesseract didn't have the cogs between them like a steam engine would. So…apparently Loki was the expert in these sorts of things.

Wonderful.

Irony at its best.

But Tony's mind was nothing if not brilliant at finding unusual answers to things and he settled back to think as the half-baked theories were thrown about around him. The clue was Loki…he was sure of it. What had Loki ever told him about magic…?

He vaguely remembered the book the trickster had given him at Evie's first Christmas that detailed magic and such, but – having memorised it – he was pretty certain there was nothing in there about different forms of magic (magic, energy, whatever) let alone linking them. Loki had, to all intents and purposes, given him what translated as 'Magic For Dummies'. Not useful in the current situation. After all, it wasn't like Tony had the thousands of years' experience that Loki did. Hell he didn't even have the flashy Glow-Stick of Destiny. Well, he did, hidden in the bottom of a drawer in his lab where Shield would never know about it, but that wasn't the point.

Creepy, mind-meldy, evil blue thing that it was…

Tony sat bolt upright in his chair, one hand going up to his mouth.

"Oh!"

"Tony?" Bruce lent forwards in alarm. "Are you alright?"

"Oh! Loki was – is, was…_is_ a genius!" He grabbed the tablet off of Evelyn – who gave an exclamation of indignation, but didn't actually try to hang onto it – and quickly accessed his own files on it. "Look, look, look!"

The image of Jane on the cinema screen shrunk so that it only occupied half the area and the rest was taken up with a photograph of Loki's sceptre. Clint's eyes hardened when he saw it, but the rest of the group looked politely blank. Tony looked between them all before groaning in exasperation.

"Seriously? Brucie, do I have to explain this to you?"

Bruce actually glared at him. "Tony, other than those few moments with it in the lab on the helicarrier I barely saw that thing. You've got to remember that I spent most of the invasion as the Hulk."

"I…Yeah. Sorry." He didn't look it, but Bruce would take what he got when it came to Tony's apologies.

"No matter. What's your point, Tony?"

"Well, I did a few scans on it and Loki's sceptre was using the Tesseract's energy. God alone knows how _that_ worked, since it never really came into contact with the thing, but still – I've got some theories on it. Anyway the Tesseract and the sceptre definitely had a _thing_ going on there. However, I also found traces of Loki's own magic in it, so it can obviously channel both." Tony explained animatedly. "As far as I'm aware it can use both types. Maybe it can link them too!"

"And do you know how on earth to do that?" Bruce's sceptical tone made Tony's wide grin slip. "It's all well and good saying that the sceptre has the capabilities, but you still don't know how the damn thing works."

"Well, not in so many words, but surely if we stick one end into the Tesseract and the other into the bridge then maybe…?"

Tony was not one known for such slap-dash and – well, let's face it – childish plans. He looked around at the other's expressions; ranging from confused to devastated and his shoulders slumped.

"Look, Tony. We know this means a lot to you, but even you have to know that sounds like a stupid plan." Jane said sympathetically. "You can't stick a sceptre into a magical rainbow bridge. There's a special observatory that has to be activated – you _know_ this! – and the bridge itself is just that; a bridge! Jamming a spear into the magical concrete won't suddenly make it work any better. You'd need a link-up to the podium in the observatory and as far as I know only Heimdall's sword can do that. Right Thor?"

"Indeed." Thor glanced at Tony's crestfallen face with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, my friend, but Jane is correct. Only Heimdall's sword can link to the Bifrost."

"But I could link to the sword…?" Tony didn't even bother to make it sound that empathic this time.

"I do not know how that would be possible, I'm afraid."

The inventor nodded slightly, swiping his finger across the tablet with a hopeless sigh so that the image of the staff spun around. "Brilliant. Bloody brilliant. So what would-"

"Do that again!"

"Huh?" Tony glanced up to see Thor now sitting forwards, staring intently up at the image on the screen. "Do what again?"

"Make it spin again." There was something in the God's voice that made the others aware that he had just had a Tony-like brainwave.

"Uh, sure."

The sceptre on the screen spun around again but this time more deliberately and slowly, showing the weapon from all angles.

"What have you spotted?" Natasha stared at the image, but clearly wasn't seeing what-ever it was that had drawn Thor's attention so acutely.

She didn't get an answer. The God was scrutinising the sceptre, his eyes half closed as he watched it slowly rotating. It was strange to see Thor concentrate so fully on something.

Then the thunder's expression cleared and became a huge beaming grin that was much more familiar.

"Oh Valhalla!" He sounded incredulous. "My brother is indeed a genius!" He rose to his feet, momentarily ignoring the questions from the others in response to his exclamation. "Look here!" He poked the image of the staff, although not hard enough to damage the LCD screen. "The blade structure on the end of the staff!"

"Yeah? So Loki liked pointy things when it came to weaponry, so what?" Clint looked bemused.

Thor turned to face the archer, his gaze bright and almost feverish. "So, I am almost certain that that blade would _also_ fit into the Bifrost podium! My brother must have redesigned it after the chitauri gave it to him!"

"What? Are you sure?" Tony stared down at the smaller image on the tablet, then zoomed in on the bladed end of the staff.

"I am certain! Loki never has just the one plan."

Steve looked incredulous at the idea. "Thor, you can't possibly think that Loki tampered with that thing purely on the off chance that he'd one day need to link it into the Bifrost."

"He did want to use the bridge to destroy a planet once." Jane suggested dubiously. "Any chance that was his thinking?"

"Or maybe he just hoped that if he was one day captured by the chitauri then there would be someone who cared enough to use it to save him." Tony shot straight back. "Thor, are you sure it would do the link-up?"

"Pretty sure." Thor sounded excited, but after all these years was smart enough not to give the scientist an unrealistic answer. "I can not guarantee it, but it certainly seems the case. We would need to ask Heimdall if it is possible – he's the only one to know for certain."

"Great!" Tony jumped up from his seat, clapping his hands together. "I'll go get it and you can take it to him and ask!"

This earned him a collective set of accusing stares and he shrugged slightly. "Alright, so I stole it back off of Shield a month after the invasion. So sue me!"

"Does it still work?" Thor asked eagerly.

"Uh…I guess? I haven't looked at it in years."

"Then let us go find out!"

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Tony was less than happy to have the whole team inside his lab, especially since Clint insisted on poking things solely to annoy him. The sceptre had been unceremoniously hidden at the back of a drawer and after so many years essentially having been forgotten there was a lot of junk piled on top of it.

Tony tried to ignore Thor's disapproving glare as he pulled it out from under a large collection of broken chemistry glassware. The sceptre didn't appear to be harmed by its long stint as a dust-collector but when it was finally pulled out into the light there was something very obviously different about it.

"Isn't the blue bit meant to glow?" Natasha was the first to voice what the rest of them were all thinking. "I'm sure I remember it glowing."

"That's because it was." Tony gave the staff a shake, in the vain hope that it would suddenly light up again. The stupid thing remained obnoxiously dead. "Okay. Give me a moment." He whistled and beckoned Dummy, who trundled over hopefully. "Jumper cables."

The robot fished around on the work bench before holding up two crocodile clips that were plugged into the mains. It dutifully removed the sceptre from Tony's grasp and attached both cables before chivvying everyone out of the way.

If Tony had hoped that the ensuing electrical charge would do anything then he was sorely mistaken. The blue gem didn't seem to react in any way at all.

"Well that was anticlimactic." Clint flicked the blade with his finger and it rang almost bell-like. "Any chance you have any magic that Loki gave you? Something tells me that electricity isn't going to cut it."

"No. I guess we'll just have to hope someone on Asgard can fix it."

"Sir, might I remind you of something?" Jarvis' voice was quiet and unobtrusive, reminding them that he had been watching the whole situation unfold. Tony waved a hand at the ceiling, allowing him to continue. "Sir, Loki _did_ gift magic to you. Or at least, to your daughter."

Evie was looking thoroughly confused at the statement. "Jarvis, I don't have anything magical."

"You do, Miss Evelyn. Your Möhðy made sure that you were watched over by it every night since your first Christmas."

Evie looked at Tony in dawning comprehension just as an understanding smile spread across the inventor's face.

"My God…Loki really is a genius! He's given us everything we need!" Even as Tony was talking, Evie had already left the lab – jumping up the stairs two at a time. "Talk about planning ahead – he must have thought it all out years ago!" He removed the sceptre from Dummy's grip and placed it down on the work-surface, blade angled to the side so that it lay still.

It was…hard for Tony to really explain how he was feeling in that moment.

Seven years, and so much blood, sweat and tears and now they seemed tantalisingly close to finally _finally_ getting somewhere close to retrieving Loki. It was relieving and terrifying and amazing and bat-shit insane all at the same time.

He really couldn't have explained it even if he'd tried.

"Dad? I've got it." Evie appeared at his side again, shaking him out of his thoughts. She sounded quieter, the excitement lost from her voice now that they were about to see if their plan would work or not. The teen held her hand out and with it a small glowing object.

One of the stars that Loki had given to her as a Christmas present when she was still a baby. Glowing a soft red – even after all these years – Evie had somehow snipped one off of the invisible thread that had linked it to the others.

"Okay, here goes." Tony didn't bother with silly questions like was she sure she wanted to give one of the precious stars away; There was nothing Evie wouldn't do for Loki. He let her drop it into his hand – the 'no handing Mr Stark things' rule didn't apply to his child, of course – and after considering how dangerous what he was about to do was, gave it to Dummy. The robot had to hold it in its cupped pincer after realising that the amorphous piece of glow would slip through a pincer grip. Then it hovered uncertainly and for all intents and purposes looked to Tony for help.

"Well, I don't know, do I? Just…" Tony waved his hands vaguely towards the sceptre. "Just poke it a bit and see what happens." He quickly gestured at everyone and they all took a large step back in response.

Dummy whirred unhappily at their reaction but dutifully swung back round to face the staff and hovered its glowing pincer over the blue gem.

"Well go on then." Tony prompted.

The robot continued to sound displeased, but obeyed and dropped the star onto the area that had once glowed.

It didn't explode. Which was a bonus.

Infact to begin with it didn't do _anything_. The tiny ball of light just sat there on the inert surface and looked innocent.

And then, just as Clint was about to make a sarcastic remark about time wasted, there was a change. The star started to seep into the gem as if it were a sponge; the glow sinking in and slowly vanishing.

"Um…" Tony raised an eyebrow. "Well, that was kind of disappointing…."

And _then_ it happened. The noise was very similar to that when Loki had powered the staff up to turn Tony into his mindless zombie; that growing whine like an engine revving.

The gem lit up to the very familiar blue glow that had once haunted all their nightmares. Clint took a further step back as Tony slowly picked up the sceptre. It was curiously warm to the touch, humming ever so gently in his grip.

"Oh wow."

"Don't you _dare_ Tony!" Bruce saw the look in his friend's eyes and quickly put his hand on the man's arm. "You don't even know how to use it!"

"You are no fun, Brucie." But Tony did put it down again. It cast a blue glow along the chrome worktop. "So, once it's hooked up to the Tesseract it should be all systems go!"

Natasha had commandeered Tony's favourite swivel-chair and now swung it from side to side. "Will that be as complicated as this was?"

"No." He sounded far more confident than he had any right to be. "Reason being – at least if my theory is correct – it doesn't need to be in contact with the Tesseract, just near it." He raised a hand to forestall the obvious 'but how do you know that?' that was winging its way to Steve's voice-box. "I've seen the video footage of when Loki first arrived on Earth out of that portal. He paused before attacking. There was a distinct moment when he appeared to look down to check that the sceptre was working before he used it."

"So?"

"Soooo, my guess is that he was waiting to see if it had charged up. From what we saw during the whole invasion, that staff never once made physical contact with the Tesseract. It just needs to be near it." Tony picked up the sceptre – this time in a less threatening manner – and held it out to Thor. "And once Heim-a-whatsit has had a look at this he can tell you all that I truly am a genius and yes, the plan will work. Oh, and someone should call Jane and explain all this to her."

Thor accepted the staff rather hesitantly. "I shall depart for the Bifrost immediately." He turned to leave, then glanced back at Tony. "Thank you for all of this, my friend."

The man shrugged, embarrassment colouring his expression. "What can I say? I want him back as much as you do." He looked uncomfortable expressing the sentiment, but Thor seemed to appreciate it.

The God left from the balcony that had once been the centre place for his and Loki's show-down. Maybe he realised it, maybe he didn't, but either way long after he'd left Tony and Evelyn remained outside.

"We're gonna get Möhðy back, right?" The girl was leaning over the edge of the railing, the wind whipping her hair away from her face.

"We're going to do our best." Tony copied her pose, resting his arms on the bar that ran around the edge of the balcony.

"Yeah." Evie picked some crumbling paint off the metal and watched it fly away in the wind. "Optimism, Dad." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "You really think there's a chance, don't you?"

"Chance for what, Birdy?" Tony asked, entirely too nonchalantly.

"Chance that he's still alive." She rested her chin on her folded arms and stared out across the city. "I _want_ to believe that there's going to be a happy ending for us all but it's been so long…"

"Evie?"

"What if he doesn't remember me anymore…?"

Tony turned to face his daughter as she stared up at him miserably. He smiled softly and cupped her cheeks, his thumb wiping away an errant tear.

"I can't think of any mother who wouldn't know their own child, even after all this time." He said gently. "I mean, look at you; you haven't changed all that much, have you?"

Evie laughed slightly. "Oh of course not. Just puberty, a growth spurt and seven years' worth of living."

"He'll know you. If nothing else, I can promise that he remembers you and loves you."

"If we find him."

"_When_ we find him."

Evie leant into him and Tony slung his arm around her shoulders.

WMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Three days later Thor reappeared.

He crashed through the windows of the living room – seemingly uncaring about the raining shards of glass. Entirely ignoring their cries and swearing he looked up from the low crouch he was in.

"Heimdall has found the chitauri."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

_The Other snarled at the two chitauri that cowered infront of him. The body of a third was sprawled across the floor behind him, neck twisted backwards at an unnatural angle._

"_You come before me with tales of the prisoner overpowering and killing one of you. How is this true?!"_

_One of the luckless creatures jabbed at the other – evidently a universe-wide gesture for 'well go on then'. This caused the second one to stumble forwards slightly, stammering in fear. Its language couldn't be accurately translated into English, but for all intents and purposes its explanation was stuttered and filled with platitudes as it tried to make its master understand what had occurred._

_And the Other was not impressed in the least._

"_The thing is crippled! He cannot speak, cannot stand and can barely use his hands and he _overpowered_ one of you?!" He flicked his hand in a quick motion – similar to backhanding somebody – and the neck of the unlucky spokes-chitauri snapped back. As the body dropped to the floor the Other turned on the remaining one. "How much do the scientists still wish to do?"_

'_Scientists' was not a word they had, but what he used equated to basically the same thing._

"_They say they can always learn more, mighty one."_

"_They've had long enough. Collect the data and close it all down."_

_Realising that it might make it out of the encounter alive, the single chitauri bobbed its head eagerly. "And the prisoner?"_

_The Other grinned; a mouthful of sharp teeth gleaming in the dull light._

"_Destroy him."_

_MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW_

**Yeah, I know. I'm mean, aren't I? See you all for the next instalment which is the one I think a lot of you have been waiting for! **

**Love and hugs!**


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